BRARY 

ViMI^  CM 

Mjpoiifrfc 

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THE  AMERICAN    SPORTSMAN'S   LIBRARY 

EDITED  BY 
CASPAK    WHITNEY 


SALMON   AND    TROUT 


SALMON  AND   TROUT 


BY 

DEAN   SAGE,  C.  H.  TOWNSEND,  H.  M.  SMITH 
AND   WILLIAM   C.   HARRIS 


ILLUSTRATED  BY  A.  B.  FROST,    TAPPAN  ADNEY 
MARTIN  JUSTICE,  AND    OTHERS 


ffarfc 
THE    MACMILLAN    COMPANY 

LONDON:   MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  LTD. 
I9O2 


All  rights  reserved 


COPYRIGHT,  1902, 
BY  THE  MACM1LLAN  COMPANY. 


Set  up  and  electrotypcd  June,  1902. 


Nortoooft 

J.  8.  Cashing  &  Co.  -  Berwick  fc  Smith 
Norwood  MttM.  U.8.A. 


CONTENTS 

THE  ATLANTIC   SALMON 
BY  DEAN  SAGE 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  History  and  Habits i 

II.  Where  to  be  Found 37 

III.  Tackle 53 

IV.  Casting  and  Working  the  Fly 91 

V.  Fishing  the  Pool 99 

VI.     Striking,  Playing,  and  Landing 114 

VII.     Hours  for  Angling,   and   Miscellaneous   Advice  and 

Experiences 130 

THE   PACIFIC   SALMONS 

BY  C.  H.  TOWNSEND  AND  H.  M.  SMITH 

The  Pacific  Salmons 153 

THE  TROUTS   OF  AMERICA 

BY  WILLIAM  C.  HARRIS 

I.  Angling,  its  Antiquity  and  Literature  —  Distribution  of 
Trouts  and  Charrs  —  Classification  —  Native  Trouts 
and  Foreign  Species  introduced  to  American  Waters  193 
II.  The  Salmon-Trouts  —  The  Cut-throat  Series  — Popu- 
lar and  Technical  Names  —  Somka  or  Mykiss  Trout 
of  Kamchatka  —  Columbia  River  Trout  —  Rocky 


i  Contents 

HAPTER  PAGE 

Mountain  or  Cut-throat  Trout  —  Yellowstone  River 
Trout  —  Trout  of  Idaho  and  Washington  —  Rio 
Grande  Trout 210 

III.  Salmon-T routs  Continued  —  Colorado  River  Trout  — 

Waha  Lake  Trout  —  Greenback  Trout  —  Yellow-fin 
Trout — Lake  Tahoe  or  Truckee  Trout  — Trout  of 
Lake  Webber  —  Utah  Lake  Trout  —  Salmon-Trout  of 
Lake  Sutherland  —  Spotted  Trout  of  Lake  Sutherland 

—  Long-Headed  Trout  of  Lake  Crescent   .         .        .     225 

IV.  Salmon-Trouts  Continued  —  The  Steelhead  Series  — 

Typical    Steelhead  —  Kamloops    Trout  —  Blueback 
Trout   of    Lake  Crescent,  Washington  —  Speckled 
Trout  of  Lake  Crescent,  Washington         .         .        .     240 
V.     Salmon-Trouts   Continued  —  The   Rainbow   Series  — 
Rainbow  or  Coast  Range  Trout  —  Brook  Trout  of 
Western  Oregon  —  McCloud  River  (California)  Rain- 
bow —  Kern  River  Trout  —  No-Shee  Trout  — Golden 
Trout  of  Mt.  Whitney  (California)  —  Brown  or  Ger- 
man Trout  —  Lock  Leven  Trout        ....     249 
VI.     The  Charr-Trouts,  their  Habits,  External  Markings, 
and  Classification  —  The  Great  Lake  Trouts  and 
Methods   of  Capture  —  The   Eastern  Brook  Trout, 
Development  and  Extent  of  their  Sense  of  Sight, 
Hearing,  Taste,  Smell,  and  Touch     ....     283 
VII.     The  Charr-Trouts  Continued  — The  Dublin  Pond  Trout 

—  The  Dolly  Varden  Trout  — The  Sea  Trout,  "Salt- 
ers "  —  The   Saiblings  —  The  Alpine  or  European 
Charr  or  Saibling  —  The  Greenland  Charr  —  The 
Long-finned    Charr  —  The   Floeberg   Charr  —  The 
Arctic  Charr  —  The  Sunapee  Trout  —  The  Oquassa 
Trout  — The  Lac  de  Marbre  Trout    .        .         .        .316 


Contents  vii 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

VIII.  Methods  of  Fishing  for  Trout  —  Fly  Fishing  and  Bait 
Fishing  —  Up-stream  or  Down-stream — Atmospheric 
Conditions  —  How  a  Trout  Brook  is  Fished  —  The 
Grasshopper  Cast  —  Flies  to  be  Used  —  Dry  and  Wet 
Fly  Fishing  —  Fly  Fishing  at  Night  —  Flies  used  in 
Lake  Fishing 330 

IX.  Casting  the  Fly— How  it  is  Done  — The  Switch  or 
Spey  Cast  — Handling  a  Hooked  Trout  — Bait  Fish- 
ing—  Selecting  Fishing  Tackle,  Rods,  Reels,  Lines, 
Leaders,  etc.  . 354 

X.    How  to  tie  Artificial  Flies 368 

INDEX 401 


LIST   OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

WELL  HOOKED Frontispiece 

FACING   PAGE 

THE  ATLANTIC  SALMON  (Salmo  salar)  ....  23 

INDIANS  SPEARING  SALMON 55 

TOAD  BROOK  POOL,  RESTIGOUCHE  RIVER  .  .  .  .55 

HEAD  OF  LANDLOCK  SALMON  IN  SPAWNING  SEASON  .  .  75 

A  PACIFIC  SALMON  AFTER  SPAWNING 75 

ATLANTIC  SALMON  DURING  SPAWNING  SEASON  ...  75 

THE  UPSALQUITCH  POOL 103 

DRIFTING  DOWN  STREAM  WITH  FLAMBEAUX  TO  SEE  THE 

SALMON 139 

THE  HUMPBACK  SALMON  (MALE),  ALASKA  .  .  -151 
INDIAN  SALMON  FISHING  PLATFORMS,  CHILKOOT  STREAM, 

ALASKA 163 

A  TYPICAL  SPAWNING  RIFFLE 185 

THE  BROOK  TROUT  (Salvelinus  fontinalis,  male)  .  .  199 

His  FIRST  TROUT  .  .  .  . .  .  .  .213 

THE  OQUASSA,  OR  BLUEBACK  TROUT  (Salvelinus  oquassa)  227 
THE  SUNAPEE  TROUT,  OR  GOLDEN  SAIBLING  (Salvelinus 

alpinus  aureolus) 227 

THE  GERMAN,  OR  BROWN  TROUT  (Salmo  jarid)  .  .  227 

THE  CRUCIAL  MOMENT 245 


x  Illustrations 

FACING   PAGE 

THE  STEELHEAD  TROUT  (Salmo  gturdneri)  .  .  -253 
THE  RAINBOW  TROUT  (Salmo  irideus)  .  .  .  -253 
THE  LOCK  LEVIN  TROUT  (Salmo  lemnensis)  .  .  .253 
THE  DUBLIN  POND  TROUT  (Salvelinus  fontinalis  agassizii)  263 

THE  MONTANA  GRAYLING 263 

WHERE  THE  BIG  ONES  LIE 281 

THE  MICHIGAN  GRAYLING 315 

FIRST  DORSAL  FIN  OF  MICHIGAN  GRAYLING.      REDUCED 

ONE-HALF.      FROM   A    if   LB.    FlSH 315 

WHERE  EXPERTNESS  is  NEEDED 333 

THE  CUT-THROAT,  OR  WAHA  LAKE  TROUT  (Salmo  clarkii 

bouvieri) 351 

THE  GREAT  LAKE  TROUT  (Cristivomer  namaycusK)    .        .  351 

THE  DOLLY  VARDEN  TROUT  (Salvelinus  parkei)         *        .  351 

LANDED 371 


THE  ATLANTIC  SALMON 

(Salmo  Salar) 
BY  DEAN  SAGE 


THE  ATLANTIC  SALMON 

(Salmo  Salar) 

CHAPTER   I 

HISTORY   AND    HABITS 

CONCERNING  no  fish  except  the  trout  has  so  much 
been  written  as  on  the  salmon,  and  the  result  of 
the  whole  body  of  literature  on  the  subject  is  to 
give  to  the  Philistine,  meaning  all  who  have  never 
caught  salmon  and  many  who  have  done  so,  numer- 
ous erroneous  ideas  on  the  subject  along  with  a 
few  "  proved  facts."  This  state  of  things  is  largely 
due  to  the  little  positive  existing  knowledge  of 
the  salmon,  except  during  his  brief  journeys  to  his 
native  or  other  rivers,  and  to  his  many  vacillating 
and  inconsistent  characteristics  while  under  obser- 
vation, especially  that  of  a  necessarily  temporary 
kind.  He  will  show  one  day  the  courage  and 
voracity  of  a  hungry  Hop,  the  next  the  timidity  of 
a  hare.  At  9  A.M.  every  fish  in  a  pool  may  be 
ruled  by  tendencies  to  investigate  with  boldness 
and  disregard  of  consequences  almost  anything 
from  a  gnat  to  a  swallow  or  squirrel  in  the  river. 

3 


4  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

At  9.30  the  entire  contents  of  the  biggest  fly-book 
would  not  make  one  of  them  stir  a  fin.  For  in- 
stance, Mr.  R.  Brookes,  who  published  in  1740  a 
treatise  on  angling  which  went  through  numerous 
editions,  says,  "  The  most  usual  baits  are  a  large, 
gaudy,  Artificial  Fly,  Lob  worms,  small  Dace, 
Gudgeons,  Bleaks  and  Minnows  which  should  be 
often  varied  in  order  to  suit  the  Humour  of  the 
fickle  Fish,  for  what  he  likes  one  day  he  will  de- 
spise the  next."  Nicholas  Cox,  whose  great  work, 
"  The  Gentleman's  Recreation,"  antedated  Brookes 
by  over  half  a  century,  says  of  the  salmon,  "  he 
biteth  best  at  3  of  the  clock  in  the  afternoon  in 
the  months  of  May,  June,  July  and  August,"  that 
when  obstructed  in  their  passage  to  the  sea  "  they 
have  grown  so  impatient  that  clapping  their  tails 
to  their  mouths  with  a  sudden  spring  they  have 
leapt  clear  over  Wear  or  any  other  obstacle  which 
stood  in  their  way."  Mr.  Cox  also  says  that  there 
is  "  no  bait  more  attractive  of,  and  eagerly  pursued 
by  Salmon  than  Lob  worms  scented  with  the  Oil  of 
Ivy  berries  or  the  Oil  of  Polypodies,  or  the  Oil  of 
Oak  mixt  with  Turpentine;  nay,  Assa-Fcetida 
they  say  is  incomparably  good."  I  give  these 
examples,  which  might  be  indefinitely  multiplied, 
from  the  earlier  angling  writers,  to  show  how  easily 


History  and  Habits  5 

the  novice  who  seeks  instruction  as  to  salmon 
from  his  library  may  be  deceived.  Indeed,  it  is 
not  only  the  archaic  authors  whose  information 
and  advice  are  misleading — many  of  modern  times 
show  almost  equal  indisposition  or  incapacity  to 
refrain  from  unwarranted  statements  as  to  the 
habits  and  disposition  of  this  noble  fish. 

The  sum  total  of  our  actual  knowledge  of  sal- 
mon is  small.  Mr.  Cholmondeley  Pennell  happily 
stated  it  in  his  excellent  book,  perhaps  the  best 
of  his  many  angling  works,  "  The  Sporting  Fish 
of  Great  Britain,"  1886,  in  a  few  paragraphs  called 
"  Proved  Facts  in  the  History  of  the  Salmon,"  and 
it  is  doubtful  if  anything  material  has  been  added 
to  them  since.  Here  they  are :  — 

I.  Salmon  and  grilse  invariably  spawn  in  fresh  water  if  pos- 
sible, both  the  eggs  and  the  young  fry  while  in  the  parr  state 
being  destroyed  by  contact  with  the  salt  water. 

II.  The  eggs  are  usually  deposited  on  gravelly  shallows,  where 
they  hatch  in  from  80  to  140  days  according  to  the  temperature 
of  the  water  —  eggs  remaining  unhatched  beyond  the  latter 
period  will  seldom  hatch  at  all,  possibly  from  having  been  de- 
stroyed by  the  low  temperature. 

III.  The  eggs  deposited  by  the  female  will  not  hatch  under 
any  circumstances  unless  vivified  after  exclusion  by  the  milt  of 
the  male  and,  at  least  up  to  the  period  of  migration,  there  is  no 
difference  whatever  in  fry  bred  between  salmon  only,  between 


6  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

grilse  only,  between  salmon  and  parr,  or  between  grilse  and 
parr.  The  female  parr  cannot  spawn,  but  the  male  parr  pos- 
sesses and  constantly  exercises  the  power  of  vivifying  salmon 
and  grilse  eggs.1 

IV.  The  fry  remain  one,  two,  and  sometimes  three  years  as 
parr  before  going  down  to  the  sea,  about  half  taking  their  de- 
parture at  one  year,  nearly  all  the  others  at  two  years,  and  the 
remainder,  which  are  exceptional,  at  three  years  old. 

V.  All  young  salmon  fry  are  marked  with  bluish  bars  on 
their  sides  until  shortly  before  their  migration,  up  to  which 
period  they  are  parrs  ;  they  then  invariably  assume  a  more  or 
less  complete  coating  of  silvery  scales  and  become  smolts,  the 
bars,  or  parr  marks,  however,  still  being  clearly  discernible  on 
rubbing  off  the  new  scales. 

VI.  The  young  of  all  species  here  included  in  the  genus 
Salmo  have  at  some  period  of  their  existence  these  bluish  bars, 
and  consequently  such  marks  are  not  by  themselves  proofs  that 
fry  bearing  them  are  the  young  of  the  true  Salmon  (Salmo  salar) . 

VII.  Unless  the  young  fish  put  on  their  smolt  dress  in  May 
or  early  in  June,  and  thereupon  go  down  to  the  sea,  they  remain 
as  parrs  another  year,  and  without  smolt  scales  they  will  not 
migrate  and  cannot  exist  in  salt  water. 

VIII.  The  length  of  the  parr  at  six  weeks  old  is  about  an 
inch  and  a  half  or  two  inches ;  and  the  weight  of  the  smolt 
before  reaching  the  tidal  wave  from  one  to  two  ounces. 

1  This  is  to  be  understood  as  referring  to  the  specific  character- 
istics of  any  of  the  salmon  thus  bred.  It  seems  very  possible  that 
there  may  be  in  fry,  variations  of  size  or  development  depending  on 
their  parentage  or  generation,  as  there  are  also  known  to  be  differ- 
ences in  the  size  of  the  eggs  of  different  breeding  fish  dependent  upon 
the  size  and  age  of  the  latter. 


History  and  Habits  7 

IX.  In  at  least   many   cases  smolts  thus  migrating  to  the 
sea  in  May  or  June  return  as  grilse  sometimes  within  five,  gen- 
erally within  ten  weeks,  the  increase  in  weight  during  that 
period  varying  from  two  to    ten  pounds,  the  average  being 
from  four  to  six  pounds,  and  these  grilse  spawn  about  Novem- 
ber or  December,  go  back  to  the  sea,  and  (in  many  cases)  re- 
ascend  the  rivers  the  next   spring  as  salmon  with   a   further 
increase  of   four  to  twelve  pounds.     Thus  a  fish  hatched  in 
April,  1854,  and  marked  when  migrating  in  May,  1855,  was 
caught  as  a  salmon  of  twenty-two  pounds'  weight  in  March, 
1856. 

X.  It  appears   certain,  however,  that   the  smolts   do  not 
always  return  during  the  same  year  as  grilse,  but  frequently 
remain  nine  or  ten  months  in  the  sea,  returning  in  the  following 
spring  as  small-sized  salmon.1 

XI.  It  has  also  been  clearly  proved  that,  in  general,  salmon 
and  grilse  find  their  way  back  to  spawn  in  the  rivers  in  which 
they  were  bred,  —  sometimes  to  the  identical  spots,  —  spawn 
about   November  or  December,  and  go  down  to  the  sea  as 
"  spent  fish  "  or  "  kelts  "  in  February  or  March,  returning,  in 
at  least  many  cases,  during  the  following  four  or  five  months  as 
"  clean  fish  "  and  with  an  increase  in  weight  of  seven  to  ten 
pounds. 

These  "  facts  "  have  to  be  modified  to  fit  the 
conditions  of  salmon  existence  in  this  country, 
where  the  lives  of  the  fish  are  subject  to  quite 

1  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  fry  of  the  salmon  are  called  parrs 
or  parr  until  they  put  on  their  migratory  dress,  when  they  become 
smolts  and  go  down  to  the  salt  water ;  grilse,  if  they  return  during 
the  first  year  of  their  migration  ;  and  at  all  other  periods,  salmon. 


8  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

different  climatic  influences  from  those  which 
prevail  in  Great  Britain.  At  the  breeding  estab- 
lishment of  Stormontfield  on  the  Tay,  where 
intelligent  observation  of  the  habits  and  growth 
of  salmon  have  been  carried  on  for  about  half  a 
century,  large  numbers  of  smolts  which  had  been 
marked  by  cutting  off  the  adipose  fin  were  retaken 
as  grilse  after  absence  in  the  sea  of  somewhat  over 
two  months  and  weighing  six  to  nine  pounds.  It 
was  also  discovered  that  while  the  larger  propor- 
tion of  the  young  salmon  assumed  the  silvery  coat 
and  went  to  sea  the  second  year  of  their  lives, 
the  remainder  which  had  been  hatched  from  the 
same  lot  of  ova  taken  from  the  parent  fish  at  the 
same  time,  and  had  been  subject  to  exactly 
the  same  conditions,  remained  another  year  in 
the  ponds  before  changing  to  the  migratory 
coat.  That  this  can  be  ascribed  (and  the  same 
thing  has  also  been  observed  in  the  Severn)  to 
such  conditions  varying  from  the  natural  ones 
under  which  the  Stormontfield  fish  pass  their 
early  lives,  is  improbable,  and  it  is  likely  that  the 
divided  migration  of  smolts  to  the  sea  is  based  on 
some  natural  provision  analogous  to  that  which 
governs  the  divided  migration  of  salmon  from  the 
sea  to  the  fresh  water.  I  have  learned  that  on 


History  and  Habits  9 

the  Restigouche  River  in  Canada  in  some  years 
large  numbers  of  smolts  are  taken  by  the  Indian 
boys  fishing  for  trout  at  the  head  of  the  tide  near 
Campbellton  very  soon  after  the  ice  breaks  up 
early  in  May.  The  usual  season  for  the  migra- 
tion of  smolts  is  three  to  four  months  later,  and 
until  then  the  river  is  full  of  parr.  These  smolts 
which  are  migrating  in  May  are  probably  from 
the  same  crop  of  parr  of  which  a  portion  went  to 
sea  the  August  before,  though  this  cannot  be  defi- 
nitely affirmed  owing  to  the  lack  of  provision  for 
confining  the  parr  until  they  assume  the  silvery 
coat  as  is  done  on  the  Tay.  Certainly  some  accu- 
rate knowledge  as  to  the  divided  migration  of 
smolts  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic  is  well  worth 
the  attention  of  fish  culturists.  It  is,  of  course, 
possible  that  there  may  be  here,  as  in  Britain, 
fresh  salmon  entering  the  Canadian  rivers  in  the 
late  autumn,  spawning  when  the  rivers  are  frozen 
over,  and  returning  to  the  sea  in  the  spring. 
There  is  evidence  that  this  visitation  takes  place 
in  some  rivers,  where  fresh-run  salmon  have  been 
taken  through  the  ice.  I  know  two  credible 
Indians  who  caught  one  of  sixteen  pounds  when 
fishing  for  trout  with  bait  in  December,  and  it 
seems  strange  that  the  kelts  which  are  so  numer- 


io  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

ous  on  many  of  the  Canadian  rivers  in  June  can 
be  the  fish  which  left  the  sea  a  year  or  there- 
abouts before  and  spawned  in  October.  If  they 
are,  their  appearance  as  kelts  in  the  late  spring 
and  early  summer  would  indicate  a  stay  in  fresh 
water  of  six  to  eight  months  after  spawning, 
which  is  very  much  in  excess  of  the  length  of 
time  they  are  known  to  remain  there  in  Britain. 

The  British  smolts  return  to  their  native  rivers 
as  grilse  at  periods  of  time  varying  from  one  to 
four  months  (provided  they  do  not  pass  this  stage 
of  existence  in  the  sea),  weighing  from  three  to 
ten  pounds,  showing  a  rapidity  of  growth  fully 
verifying  this  statement  in  Walton  and  Cotton : 
"  It  is  said  that  after  he  is  got  into  the  sea  he 
becomes,  from  a  samlet,  not  so  big  as  a  gudgeon, 
to  be  a  salmon,  in  so  short  a  time  as  a  gosling 
becomes  to  be  a  goose.  Much  of  this  has  been 
observed  by  tying  a  ribbon  or  some  known  tape 
or  thread  in  the  tail  of  some  young  salmons  which 
have  been  taken  in  weirs  as  they  have  swimmed 
towards  the  salt  water,  and  then  by  taking  a  part 
of  them  again  with  the  well-known  mark  at  the 
same  place  at  their  return  from  the  sea,  which  is 
usually  about  six  months  later." 

In  this  country  —  and  by  this  country,  in  speak- 


History  and  Habits  n 

ing  of  salmon,  I  include  Canada  —  the  stay  of 
smolts  in  the  sea  is  supposed  to  be  at  least  ten 
months.  The  exception  to  this,  if  any  exists,  is 
in  the  case  of  the  smolts  which  have  been  ob- 
served going  to  the  sea  in  the  early  spring  as 
above  mentioned  in  the  Restigouche,  and  they 
may  do  the  same  in  other  rivers,  though  I  have 
never  heard  of  it.  These  fish  possibly  return  as 
grilse  the  same  year,  and  could  do  so  and  still 
have  as  much  time  in  the  sea  as  many  of  the 
British  smolts  devote  to  that  visit  before  seeking 
the  fresh  water.  I  am  not  aware  that  any  of 
these  spring  migrating  smolts  have  ever  been 
marked  so  that  they  could  be  identified  with 
returning  grilse,  but  many  of  those  which  go 
down  to  the  sea  in  August  and  September  have 
been  marked,  and  are  known  to  have  come  back 
to  the  river  in  ten  or  twelve  months  as  grilse, 
weighing  from  two  and  one-half  to  five  pounds. 
I  think  it  beyond  question  that  the  grilse  ascend- 
ing American  rivers  have  averaged  a  much 
longer  time  in  the  salt  water  than  their  British 
relatives,  and  yet  are  smaller  in  weight,  the  con- 
ditions of  both  in  the  sea  being  probably  nearly 
identical.  I  have  never  seen  a  grilse  in  Canada 
of  above  six  pounds,  while  in  Britain  ten  pounds 


12  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

is  not  a  very  rare  size,  and  one  is  reputed  to  have 
been  taken  of  twenty  pounds. 

Undoubtedly,  owing  to  the  slight  differences 
in  appearance,  many  small  salmon,  especially  in 
this  country,  are  assumed  to  be  grilse,  and  it  is 
rather  strange,  in  view  of  the  great  similarity  in 
the  fish  at  these  two  different  stages  of  its  exist- 
ence, that  so  few  writers  give  any  instruction  to 
enable  one  to  distinguish  grilse  from  small  salmon. 
Mr.  Young  says  in  "The  Book  of  the  Salmon": 
"  Very  frequently  the  only  distinguishing  marks 
between  grilse  and  salmon  are  the  smaller  scales 
of  the  former,  and  longer  and  larger  fins.  The 
fins  of  a  grilse  of  eight  pounds'  weight  are  longer 
and  larger  than  those  of  a  salmon  of  the  same  size." 

Other  differences  are  the  looser  setting  of  the 
scales,  which  are  more  easily  rubbed  off  in  the 
grilse  than  in  the  salmon,  and  the  squarer  tail  of 
the  adult  fish,  that  of  the  grilse  retaining  the 
forked  shape  of  the  smolt's  to  a  marked  degree. 
The  grilse  is  smaller  in  proportion  at  the  root  of 
the  tail  than  the  salmon.  With  these  peculiari- 
ties borne  in  mind,  it  is  not  hard  to  tell  salmon 
from  grilse,  especially  in  this  country,  where  the 
latter  seldom  attain  enough  size  to  be  mistaken 
for  their  older  relatives. 


History  and  Habits  13 

So  far  as  my  experience  goes  in  this  country 
the  size  of  the  grilse  of  different  rivers  is  about 
the  same  and  does  not  vary  according  to  the  size 
of  the  parent  fish,  as  is  said  to  be  the  case  in 
Britain.  The  grilse  of  the  Restigouche  and 
Metapedia,  in  both  of  which  rivers  the  salmon 
average  fully  twenty  pounds,  and  not  infre- 
quently attain  a  weight  of  forty  pounds  or  over, 
are  no  larger  than  those  of  the  Nepisiguit, 
where  the  average  weight  will  hardly  exceed  half 
that  of  the  first-named  streams.  Mr.  Day  in  his 
"  British  and  Irish  Salmonidae,"  quoting  from 
Professor  Brown  Goode,  says,  "  The  male  grilse  is 
sexually  mature,  but  not  the  female  in  America." 
This  is  certainly  a  mistake,  as  female  grilse  are 
known  to  breed  in  some  Canadian  rivers.  The 
present  owner  of  the  Godbout,  Mr.  Manuel,  is 
my  authority  for  stating  that  on  this  river  grilse 
are  very  frequently  taken  with  ova  quite  as  fully 
developed  as  those  of  salmon  at  the  same  time. 
On  the  Restigouche,  where  I  have  fished  for 
nearly  thirty  years,  I  have  never  seen  or  heard 
of  a  female  grilse,  and  believe  that  no  members  of 
the  fair  sex  ascend  that  river  until  they  become 
salmon.  John  Mowat,  the  former  head  guardian 
of  the  Restigouche,  and  an  observant  and  intelli- 


14  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

gent  man,  told  me  the  second  time  I  was  on  the 
river  that  no  female  grilse  ascended  it,  and  for 
many  years  I  had  every  one  examined  that  was 
caught,  without  finding  a  single  female.  The 
same,  I  was  told  by  an  old  half-breed  canoeman 
of  the  Nepisiguit,  is  true  of  that  river,  in  which 
grilse  come  up  with  the  first  run  of  salmon  and 
are  very  much  more  abundant  than  on  the  Res- 
tigouche,  where  they  do  not  begin  to  run  until 
July,  and  are  never  plentiful  then.  The  observa- 
tions on  these  and  other  American  rivers  are  not 
extensive  and  careful  enough  to  establish  with 
certainty  the  facts  as  to  the  sexes  of  grilse, 
though  I  believe  that  very  few,  if  any,  female 
grilse  ascend  the  Restigouche. 

Another  curious  fact  about  grilse  which  has 
been  observed  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  is 
the  great  relative  disparity  between  them  and  the 
salmon  in  different  rivers,  —  in  numbers.  It  is, 
of  course,  impossible  to  make  more  than  a  wild 
guess  how  many  grilse  there  should  be  to  one 
salmon  in  the  same  stream,  supposing  all  those 
belonging  there  should  ascend  it  simultaneously, 
but  it  is  certain  that  some  rivers  have  in  them 
every  year  many  more  grilse  than  salmon,  which 
would  seem  to  be  the  proper  state  of  affairs, 


History  and  Habits  15 

while  others  have  many  more  salmon  than  grilse. 
In  some  streams  the  grilse  come  along  with  the 
first  run  of  salmon,  and  in  others  six  to  eight 
weeks  later.  A  river  which  has  a  large  propor- 
tion of  grilse  may  not  have  so  many  salmon  as 
one  in  which  the  grilse  are  scarce.  All  this 
would  seem  to  indicate  that  fish  in  the  grilse 
stage  come  back  to  their  native  rivers  in  vary- 
ing proportionate  numbers,  or  that  the  grilse  of 
one  river  go  to  another  at  that  period  of  exist- 
ence. This  latter  theory  would  account  for  the 
presence  of  large  numbers  of  grilse  in  one  river 
whilst  another  near  by  has  but  few,  as  is  the 
case  in  the  Nepisiguit  and  Restigouche.  It  is 
known  that  salmon  have  forsaken  their  own  river 
and  gone  up  another  for  one  year.  I  have  seen 
an  undoubted  example  of  this,  and  there  is  no 
reason  why  grilse  should  not  do  the  same.  How- 
ever, this  is  a  sporadic  action  in  salmon,  and  the 
disparity  in  numbers  between  them  and  grilse  in 
different  rivers  is  habitual.  In  the  Tweed,  ac- 
cording to  Mr.  Willis  Bund,  in  his  most  valuable 
and  interesting  book  "  Salmon  Problems,"  "  from 
1808  to  1853  in  no  year  were  less  than  three 
grilse  taken  for  each  salmon,  from  1853  to  1876 
only  two  grilse  were  taken  for  each  salmon." 


1 6  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

There  has  in  the  Tweed,  in  the  past  fifty  years, 
been  a  very  sensible  decrease  in  the  number  of 
salmon,  of  which  the  smaller  proportion  of  grilse 
may  indicate  that  the  fish  in  that  stage  of  growth, 
or  possibly  the  preceding  one,  had  been  subject 
to  some  untoward  influences.  However  this  may 
be  as  to  the  Tweed,  there  are  British  rivers  and 
rivers  in  America  wherein  the  numbers  of  grilse 
seem  utterly  without  bearing  on  the  numbers  of 
salmon.  One  habit  they  have  seems  to  prevail  in 
both  countries  —  they  do  not  seek,  nearly  as  gen- 
erally as  salmon,  to  reach  the  head  waters  of  the 
rivers  they  frequent,  and  this  is  rather  strange,  as 
they  seem  by  reason  of  their  smaller  size  and 
greater  activity  much  better  able  than  the  adult 
salmon  to  travel  in  shallow  and  rapid  water. 

The  number  of  grilse  taken  on  the  lower  waters 
of  salmon  rivers  is,  so  far  as  I  can  ascertain,  larger 
in  proportion  to  the  salmon,  than  on  the  upper 
waters,  and  this  difference  is  quite  plainly  to  be 
observed  in  stretches  a  few  miles  apart.  It  may 
be  interesting  to  give  the  number  of  salmon  and 
grilse  in  some  waters  I  fish, — on  the  Restigouche 
River,  —  and  also  the  number  and  percentages  of 
the  different  fish  taken  in  the  waters  of  the  Ris- 
tigouche  Salmon  Club  for  twenty  years  from  and 


History  and  Habits  17 

including  1881.  Probably  the  proportion  of 
grilse  would  be  greater  in  both  instances  were 
the  angling  carried  on  beyond  August  15,  the 
beginning  of  the  close  season.  Our  water  was 
not  fished  in  the  seven  years  given  at  a  later 
average  date  than  July  10,  whereas  there  was 
some  fishing  done  on  the  water  of  the  Risti- 
gouche  Salmon  Club  during  the  entire  season. 

SALMON  GRILSE 
Our  water,  —  1895           87         n      first  grilse  taken  July  4 

1896  315         38      first  grilse  taken  June  29 

1897  120        no 

1898  62  6      first  grilse  taken  July  3 

1899  52         13      first  grilse  taken  July  3 

1900  155         1  6      first  grilse  taken  July  2 

1901  179          5      first  grilse  taken  June  36 
Totals:                          970        89  Percentage  of  grilse 


Ristigouche  Salmon  Club  from  1881  to  1900  :  — 
9986  salmon;  1198  grilse;  percentage  of  grilse,  10.71. 

The  excess  of  percentage  of  grilse  in  the  score 
of  the  Ristigouche  Salmon  Club  may  be  due  to 
the  later  date  of  fishing  on  its  waters  or  to  the 
habit  which  prevailed  there  at  one  time  of  count- 
ing as  grilse  all  fish  below  a  certain  weight,  — 
eight  or  ten  pounds. 

While  the   comparative   scarcity   of  grilse   in 


1 8  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

some  rivers  is  an  unnecessary  confirmation  of 
the  fact  of  a  divided  migration  of  salmon  at  this 
stage  of  their  existence,  and  it  is  now  well  estab- 
lished that  this  divided  migration  occurs  in  all 
stages  of  growth  from  the  smolt  to  the  adult  fish, 
the  great  surplus  of  grilse  over  salmon  in  some  of 
our  rivers  is  hard  to  explain.  One  river  may 
yield  one  grilse  to  ten  salmon,  and  another,  near 
by,  one  salmon  to  four  or  five  grilse.  As  the 
fewest  grilse  are  found  in  the  rivers  of  this  coun- 
try, so  far  as  I  know,  which  produce  the  largest 
fish,  it  may  be  possible,  though  I  only  hint  at  it 
as  a  theory,  that  the  large  average  growth  at- 
tained by  the  salmon  of  the  Romaine,  the  Cas- 
capedia,  and  some  other  rivers  is  due  to  their 
continued  residence  for  years  in  the  sea,  where 
their  increase  in  size  is  not  checked  by  the  exer- 
cise of  the  reproductive  function  and  the  severe 
strain  it  involves.  This  would  appear  to  show 
that  a  very  much  larger  proportion  of  the  fish  of 
some  rivers  pass  the  grilse  stage  of  existence  at 
sea  than  is  the  habit  with  natives  of  other 
rivers,  or,  that  the  grilse  of  some  rivers  ascend 
other  streams  than  those  in  which  they  were 
born. 

It  is  probable  that  the  smolts  of  this  country 


History  and  Habits  19 

remain  a  good  deal  longer  in  the  sea  before  re- 
turning as  grilse  (and  this  by  reason  of  most  of 
the  American  salmon  rivers  being  ice  bound 
for  four  or  five  months  of  the  year)  than  in 
the  British  rivers.  For  all  this  they  are  not  so 
large  as  their  European  brethren.  Mr.  Pennell 
mentions  the  average  weight  of  grilse  as  four  to 
six  pounds,  and  I  think  that  nearer  three  than 
four  pounds  would  be  the  average  here.  While 
it  is  possible  that  the  smolts  which  go  to  the  sea 
in  August  and  September  may  return  while  the 
ice  is  in  the  river  or  before  the  next  summer,  none 
has  ever  been  seen  during  this  period  of  time, 
while  several  smolts  which  were  tagged  in  August 
on  the  Restigouche  have  been  caught  as  grilse 
the  next  July  and  were  of  the  average  weight  —  a 
little  over  three  pounds. 

After  the  grilse  becomes  a  salmon,  he  is  likely 
to  come  to  fresh  water  every  year  of  his  life  and, 
if  not  prevented,  to  his  native  river,  though  that  a 
portion  of  the  salmon  of  all  rivers  remain  in  the 
sea  every  year  is  well  established,  and  is  a  precau- 
tion of  nature  against  the  entire  destruction  of 
any  one  crop  of  fish.  The  habits  as  to  the  ascent 
of  the  rivers  vary  greatly.  In  some,  there  is  a 
run  of  large  fish,  entirely  females,  which  enter  the 


20  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

fresh  water  as  soon  as  the  ice  is  out  and  go 
straight  through  to  the  head  waters  of  the  rivers. 
This  run  will  be  on  the  rivers  of  the  Bay  of  Cha- 
leurs  in  which  it  occurs,  from  the  middle  to  the  last 
of  May  —  this  is  followed  during  the  first  fort- 
night of  June  (in  an  ordinary  season)  by  another 
run  of  good-sized  fish  and  to  them  succeed  the 
smaller  ones  and  the  grilse,  though  occasionally 
there  is  a  late  run  containing  a  scattering  number 
of  large  salmon.  On  other  rivers  in  the  same 
district  no  fish  come  until  nearly  or  about  July  i, 
and  then  observe  no  order  in  their  appearance, 
great  and  small  coming  together,  and  on  more 
than  one  river  the  grilse  accompany  their 
elders.  Undoubtedly  fresh  salmon  come  in  from 
the  sea  until  the  rivers  freeze,  but  in  numbers 
very  much  smaller  than  those  of  the  early  runs. 
One  of  the  best  runs  of  salmon  in  the  Miramichi 
River  comes  in  August,  when  the  upward  migra- 
tion has  practically  ceased  in  the  neighboring 
rivers,  and  I  think  there  must  be  a  still  later  run 
in  some  other  streams  which  remains  as  far  up 
them  as  the  thickness  of  ice  will  permit,  spawns 
beneath  the  ice,  and  furnishes  the  kelts  which 
come  down  in  May  following;  for  these  kelts 
cannot  be  the  fish  which  spawned  the  October 


History  and  Habits  21 

preceding  and  had  an  open  route  to  the  sea  at 
any  time  after. 

The  plentifulness  or  scarcity  of  salmon  in  good 
rivers  is  dependent  largely  on  causes  connected 
with  the  habit  of  divided  migration  which  may 
have  been  operating  for  several  years  before  the 
effect  is  manifest  on  the  river.  A  widespread 
calamity  to  the  parr  or  smolt  crops  of  a  certain 
year  may  cause  a  scarcity  of  salmon  three  years 
later  and  an  average  diminution  of  size  in  those 
taken  for  several  years  after  that.  While  certain 
companies  of  salmon  go  directly  through  to  the 
tops  of  the  rivers  they  ascend,  others,  bound  for 
the  same  points,  take  it  more  leisurely  and  halt 
a  day  or  two  or  longer  in  favorite  resting-places, 
where  they  take  their  diversion  in  leaping  from 
the  water,  seizing  flies,  false  or  natural,  on  or  near 
the  surface,  and  amusing  themselves  according 
to  the  various  fancies  which  may  strike  them.  A 
rise  of  water  may  take  them  up  river  a  few  miles, 
though  in  larger  streams  they  are  not  dependent 
on  this  and  travel  very  often  in  water  which  is 
falling.  So  soon  as  the  salmon  leaves  the  sea 
does  his  appetite,  which  must  be  of  the  most 
voracious  character,  begin  to  decrease,  and  for- 
tunately, as  no  good  salmon  river  that  I  know 


22  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

could  furnish  food  for  the  throngs  which  ascend 
it.  That  his  tendency  to  eat  is  not  eradicated 
while  in  fresh  water  is  certain.  He  takes  flies, 
natural  and  artificial,  and  other  objects  as  well, 
with  the  general  intention  of  swallowing  them. 
That  he  sometimes  carries  out  this  intention  I 
thoroughly  believe,  both  from  having  taken  several 
which  had  the  fly  far  down  toward  the  stomach 
and  from  the  following  incidents  in  my  knowl- 
edge. 

In  1886,  late  in  August,  two  Indians  of  my 
acquaintance  came  down  the  Metapedia  River  and 
stopped  at  the  large  pool  at  the  mouth  to  fish  for 
trout,  which  gather  there  in  great  numbers  late  in 
the  season.  The  canoe  was  anchored,  and  the 
bait,  consisting  of  a  chunk  of  raw  beef  put  on  a 
large  hook  attached  to  a  string  line,  and  a  short, 
stiff  pole  cut  in  the  woods,  thrown  overboard. 
Before  it  had  sunk  a  yard  and  a  half  in  the  clear 
water  the  Indian  in  charge  saw  a  large  fish  come 
from  the  bottom  and  seize  it.  Recognizing  it  for 
a  salmon  at  once,  he  gave  a  mighty  jerk,  then 
passed  the  rod  back  to  his  companion,  caught  the 
line  in  both  hands,  and  before  the  astonished  fish 
had  a  chance  to  turn  he  was  hauled  into  the  canoe 
and  on  his  way  down  the  river  to  the  sea  whence 


History  and  Habits  23 

he  had  come.  The  salmon  was  about  seventeen 
pounds'  weight,  and  his  dark  color  showed  he 
had  been  for  some  time  in  fresh  water.  A  bright 
salmon  was  taken  a  year  after  this  by  an  Indian 
fishing  for  trout  with  bait  just  above  the  tide  head 
in  the  Restigouche.  A  young  friend  of  mine 
took  a  salmon  with  a  fly  on  the  Upsalquitch, 
which  had  in  his  stomach  a  small  mass  of  angle- 
worms. Any  one  angling  in  rivers  that  are  netted 
at  the  mouth  must  have  noticed  that  the  fish 
which  have  been  in  the  nets  and  escaped  will  take 
the  fly  much  quicker  than  their  unscathed  com- 
panions. May  it  not  be  that  as  the  wounded  fish 
reach  the  stage  of  convalescence  their  appetite  re- 
vives, and  the  needs  of  their  systems,  to  make  up 
for  the  waste  caused  by  their  injuries,  excite  them 
to  extraordinary  exertions  to  appease  it? 

Many  instances  have  been  known  of  fish  taking 
the  fly  when  so  badly  hurt  as  to  make  it  seem 
almost  incredible  that  they  should  want  to  move. 
I  took  one  which  had  lately  lost  a  good  pound  of 
flesh  by  a  seal  bite  and  saw  one  of  twenty-three 
pounds  taken,  which  I  afterward  learned  had 
been  hooked,  played,  gaffed,  and  lost  the  evening 
before  about  half  a  mile  below.  In  addition  to 
the  fly  embedded  in  his  jaw  with  a  yard  of  gut  fast 


24  The  Atlantic  Salman 

thereto,  he  had  a  deep  open  gaff  wound  in  his 
shoulder.  It  would  seem  as  though  the  pangs  of 
hunger  drove  this  fish,  sick  and  sorry  as  he  was, 
to  his  second  and  fatal  attempt  to  devour  an  arti- 
ficial fly.  One  Mitchell,  who  was  engaged  in 
building  the  section  of  the  Intercolonial  Railway 
which  passes  Metapedia,  assured  me  he  had 
caught  a  salmon  with  a  partly  digested  frog  in 
his  stomach. 

The  explanation  of  the  fact  that  salmon,  even 
those  caught  in  salt  water,  are  so  very  rarely 
found  with  any  food  inside  them,  is  that  they 
have  in  common  with  some  of  the  higher  forms  of 
creatures  the  power  of  emptying  their  stomachs 
when  danger  is  near  and  their  activity  is  to  be 
called  in  play.  They  have  certainly  been  observed 
in  this  act  on  more  than  one  occasion.  This  con- 
duct on  the  part  of  the  fish  is  much  more  reason- 
able than  that  of  never  taking  any  food  when  out 
of  the  sea;  and  though  the  appetite  of  the  salmon 
gradually  diminishes  after  he  reaches  fresh  water, 
it  is  pretty  certain  that  he  takes  an  occasional 
slight  refection  up  to  the  time  of  spawning. 

It  is  not  in  accordance  with  well-known  facts 
to  accept  the  very  frequent  statement  that  salmon 
rise  to  a  fly  which  resembles  no  living  creature, 


History  and  Habits  25 

simply  for  purposes  of  investigation,  and  with  no 
intention  of  eating  it.  The  fact  is  that  most  flies 
do  resemble  very  strongly,  in  a  general  way,  well- 
known  moths  and  butterflies.  The  Durham 
Ranger,  Toppy,  and  Brown  Fairy,  for  instance, 
are  excellent  imitations  of  insects  common  on 
American  or  British  rivers,  and  the  natural  vorac- 
ity of  salmon  is  such  that,  even  when  it  is  on  the 
wane,  they  are  liable  to  come  at  almost  any  mov- 
ing object.  A  red  squirrel  was  once  being  carried 
down  a  pool  in  the  Restigouche  which  I  was 
fishing,  and  forty  or  fifty  yards  below  me  was 
taken  by  a  large  salmon  —  at  least  there  was  a 
big  rise  just  where  we  were  watching  the  little 
animal,  and  it  disappeared  to  come  to  the  surface 
again  in  a  short  time  ten  or  a  dozen  yards  fur- 
ther down.  He  was  not  "  mistaken  for  a  shrimp," 
as  we  so  often  hear,  to  account  for  salmon  taking 
a  fly.  Once  when  fishing  the  Chain  of  Rocks 
pool  I  saw  a  salmon  with  great  eagerness  take 
one  of  the  large  black  and  yellow  butterflies  so 
common  in  July,  which  I  dropped  in  the  current 
and  which  floated  down  over  him.  I  then  caught 
another  of  the  same  insect,  put  it  on  a  hook,  and 
cast  over  the  fish  ineffectually.  Going  down  the 
river  directly  after,  I  met  a  friend  on  his  way  to 


26  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

Chain  of  Rocks  to  whom  I  told  the  story  and  the 
location  of  the  fish.  He  got  him  the  same  even- 
ing with  one  of  the  live  butterflies.  The  largest 
salmon  I  have  ever  seen  on  the  Restigouche  was 
taken  by  a  man  named  Alford,  who  had  risen  him 
one  evening  two  or  three  times  to  a  Silver  Doctor. 
He  then  attached  to  the  hook  of  the  same  fly  a 
piece  of  caribou  skin  with  the  hair  on,  and  at 
least  two  inches  long  by  one  wide,  and  let  it  float 
down  over  the  fish.  It  was  taken  so  greedily  that 
the  hook  fastened  at  the  very  root  of  the  tongue, 
and  as  Alford  was  alone  and  had  no  gaff,  he 
beached  the  salmon,  which  weighed  forty-five 
pounds.  Mr.  Locke,  in  "  The  Tweed  and  Don," 
says,  "  As  an  illustration  that  salmon  when  in  the 
humour  will  take  anything,  a  few  seasons  ago 
a  friend  of  mine  captured  two  or  three  fish  with 
the  thumb  of  an  old  kid  glove  stuck  on  a  plain 
hook."  This  would  be  a  European  adaptation  of 
the  caribou  skin,  and  to  my  mind  confirms  the 
belief  that  salmon  rise  to  a  fly  or  to  anything  else 
with  an  intention  of  eating  the  object.  The 
intention  may  change  on  investigation,  as  is  the 
case  often  with  people  who  think  they  will  take 
something  and  then  alter  their  views. 

The  assumption  that  because  nothing  is  found 


History  and  Habits  27 

in  the  stomachs  of  salmon  therefore  they  never 
feed  has  very  slight  foundation.  Many  salmon 
are  caught  in  salt  water,  and  these  are  quite  as 
empty  as  those  taken  in  the  rivers  above.  Any 
one  who  has  taken  salmon  with  a  shrimp  bait 
cannot  avoid  the  belief  that  they  take  it  for  food, 
otherwise  why  do  they  swallow  it  ?  I  have  seen 
in  Ireland  salmon  taken  with  shrimp,  worms, 
eel's  tail,  and  a  spinning  minnow.  There  are  a 
few  known  instances  of  food  having  been  found 
in  the  stomachs  of  salmon,  and  certainly  one  in 
which  salmon  when  netted  were  seen  to  disgorge 
quantities  of  sand  eels. 

The  fish  of  the  early  runs,  and  up  to  August 
certainly,  spawn  in  various  parts  of  the  rivers, 
generally  on  the  gravelly  bars  where  the  eggs 
are  deposited  and  impregnated,  in  troughs  or 
grooves  dug  out  with  infinite  pains  by  the  fish, 
and  afterward  covered  by  them.  After  this  func- 
tion is  performed,  they  shortly  descend  to  the  sea, 
changed  from  the  plump,  brilliant  creatures  of  a 
few  months  since,  into  lank,  slimy,  black  objects, 
there  to  regain  in  the  unknown  quarters  they 
inhabit,  their  health  and  strength,  and  to  return 
in  one,  two,  or  three  years  perhaps,  to  encounter 
again  the  fresh  perils  of  their  renewed  journeys. 


28  Tbe  Atlantic  Salmon 

Where  they  go  during  these  marine  sojourns  is 
a  mystery  likely  to  be  long  insoluble.  It  is 
thought  by  many  that  they  do  not  go  a  great 
distance  from  the  mouths  of  their  native  rivers, 
and  the  fact  of  their  almost  uniform  return  to 
these  makes  this  conjecture  a  probable  one  in 
default  of  any  actual  knowledge  to  the  contrary. 
It  was  discovered  many  years  ago  in  Britain  that 
salmon  about  visiting  fresh  water  strike  the  coast 
at  some  distance  from  the  rivers  to  which  they 
are  bound,  and  follow  the  coast  along  to  their 
mouths.  This  knowledge  has  been  utilized  by 
the  netters,  much  to  the  discomfiture  of  the  poor 
fish,  whose  perils  have  been  doubled.  The  same 
is  true  of  this  country,  and  the  salmon  of  the 
rivers  flowing  into  the  Bay  of  Chaleurs  are 
decimated  by  nets  set  in  the  sea  as  far  as  fifty 
miles  down  the  coast  from  the  estuary  of  the 
Restigouche.  The  returns  of  salmon  caught  by 
the  netters  are  notoriously  untrue,  but  it  is 
probable  that  the  nets  below  the  estuary  take 
quite  as  many  fish  as  those  set  in  and  above  it, 
and  are  doing  their  full  share  toward  rendering 
worthless  the  many  splendid  salmon  streams  trib- 
utary to  the  bay. 

It  is  not  now  considered  certain  that  salmon 


History  and  Habits  29 

when  visiting  fresh  water  always  return  to  the 
rivers  in  which  they  were  spawned.  They  proba- 
bly do  so  when  nothing  interferes  to  prevent ;  but 
when,  from  various  causes,  they  cannot  get  into 
their  native  streams  it  would  certainly  be  natural, 
if  not  unavoidable,  for  the  gravid  fish,  whose  first 
instinct  is  to  reach  a  place  where  they  can  deposit 
their  spawn,  to  go  to  some  river  they  could  ascend 
if  the  entrance  to  their  native  one  was  practically 
closed.  An  excessive  number  of  nets  at  the 
mouth  of  a  river  may  cause  salmon  to  desert  it 
while  thus  obstructed.  For  several  years  of  my 
acquaintance  with  the  Restigouche  River  the 
white  porpoises  have  been  in  such  great  quanti- 
ties at  its  mouth  as  to  drive  off  the  salmon  of  the 
earlier  runs,  which  undoubtedly  went  to  rivers  on 
the  other  side  of  the  bay.  In  1896  there  was  a 
run  of  large  fish  in  the  middle  of  July  in  the  Res- 
tigouche which  were  very  different  in  their  appear- 
ance from  the  natives  of  that  river,  being  shorter, 
thicker,  especially  at  the  base  of  the  tail,  and  with 
much  broader  tails  for  the  size  than  were  found 
in  the  Restigouche  fish.  They  came  in  the  river 
all  together  and  were  past  the  lower  waters,  in  two 
or  three  days,  —  I  took  half  a  dozen  of  them,  all 
from  twenty  to  twenty-five  pounds,  —  but  they  did 


30  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

not  rise  freely  until  they  reached  the  head  waters, 
where  a  great  many  were  killed.  On  the  Meta- 
pedia  River,  where  the  fish  are  large,  many  of 
them  go  a  long  distance  up  and  spawn  in  small 
streams.  A  former  owner,  acting  on  a  peculiar 
theory  of  his,  had  a  dam  built  thirty  or  thirty-five 
miles  up  the  river  to  stop  the  further  passage  of 
the  fish,  and  thus  improve  his  own  angling,  at  the 
same  time  forcing  the  fish  to  spawn  in  the  lower 
stretches.  The  result  of  this  was  that  in  three 
years  there  were  no  fish  in  this  magnificent  river, 
and  in  the  first  year  the  angling  began  to  decline. 
When  the  river  came  into  the  possession  of  the 
Ristigouche  Salmon  Club  the  dam  was  removed, 
and  the  salmon  allowed  their  old  freedom  of 
action,  but  it  took  five  or  six  years  to  get  back 
the  river  to  anything  like  its  old  form.  It  seemed 
as  though,  after  two  or  three  seasons'  futile  at- 
tempts to  reach  their  old  spawning  grounds,  the 
remnant  of  the  salmon  abandoned  effort  and  went 
elsewhere. 

A  well-known  and  observing  angler,  writing  me 
from  Edinburgh,  says  anent  salmon  returning  to 
their  native  rivers :  "  Fourteen  years  ago  I  rented 
the  Mount  Clairy  fishings  on  the  Deveron,  which 
usually  yielded  about  one  hundred  salmon  to  the 


History  and  Habits  31 

rod.  The  season  was  an  unusually  dry  one.  On 
the  removal  of  the  nets  the  salmon  were  seen  in 
great  numbers  at  the  mouth  in  September,  and 
the  tacksmen  who  had  done  badly,  foretold,  if  rain 
only  came,  a  grand  year  for  the  rods.  Unfor- 
tunately there  appeared  a  great  number  of  por- 
poises, the  fish  disappeared,  and  very  few  ascended 
the  Deveron,  though  rain  fell  a  few  days  after  the 
nets  were  removed.  My  total  bag  for  the  season 
was  only  six  salmon." 

More  proof,  if  necessary,  could  be  brought  as 
to  salmon  not  always  confining  their  visits  to  the 
rivers  in  which  they  were  spawned,  but  enough 
has  been  said  in  support  of  a  now  quite  general 
belief  that  such  is  the  fact. 

Mr.  Atkins,  the  fish  culturist  of  Maine,  has 
ascertained  by  experiments  at  Bucksport,  where 
the  hatcheries  are  situated,  that  the  Penobscot 
salmon  spawn  only  every  other  year.  This  is  not 
an  established  fact  in  all  rivers,  and  gives,  per- 
haps, grounds  for  the  supposition  that  these 
salmon  may  visit  other  rivers  in  alternate  years, 
though  it  is  hardly  probable  that  such  is  the 
case. 

As  it  is  only  in  salt  water  that  salmon,  after  the 
smplt  stage,  gain  in  weight,  and  especially  just 


32  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

after  the  first  seaward  migration,  it  would  be 
interesting  to  know  on  what  food  they  feed,  that 
they  wax  so  fat  —  as  the  smolt  is  but  a  tiny  crea- 
ture from  three  and  a  half  to  seven  or  eight 
inches  long,  and  must  have  the  material  for  his 
stupendous  growth  very  handy  to  enable  him  to 
increase  his  size  thirty  or  forty  fold  in  six  or  eight 
weeks.  Professor  Huxley  believes  that  the  food 
consists  chiefly  of  a  class  of  small  crustaceous 
creatures  found  in  semi-solid  masses  upon  the 
surface,  frequently  of  deep  water,  in  fact  that  the 
salmon  swims  in  a  species  of  animal  soup  in 
which  it  has  merely  to  open  its  mouth  and  swal- 
low what  enters  it. 

Mr.  Cholmondeley  Pennell  gives  in  his  "  Natural 
History  of  the  British  Salmonidae,"  published  in 
the  Badminton  Library,  the  actual  weight  of  seven 
marked  grilse  from  the  Stormontfield  ponds 
which  were  let  out  to  go  to  the  sea  in  May 
and  June  and  were  caught  from  July  i  to 
August  4  of  the  same  year  —  the  smallest 
weighed  three  pounds  and  the  largest  nine  and 
a  half  pounds. 

The  smolt  is  two  or  three  weeks  in  changing 
from  the  preceding  parr  stage,  which  consists  in 
assuming  a  coat  of  silvery  scales.  When  this  is 


History  and  Habits  33 

done  the  fish  gather  in  shoals   and   drop   down 
stream  till  the  sea  is  reached. 

In  the  Fishing  Gazette  for  September  2,  1893, 
is  a  table  by  Mr.  E.  Sturdy  for  estimating  the 
weights  of  salmon  by  their  inches  of  length,  of 
course  assuming  the  fish  to  be  in  average  con- 
dition. As  these  trials  were  made  on  one  river 
and  for  a  part  of  one  season  only,  by  Mr.  Sturdy, 
it  might  not  be  safe  to  base  any  general  law  on 
them.  The  table  is  as  follows,  and  I  have,  in  giv- 
ing it,  not  gone  into  the  fractions  of  pounds  in 
the  original,  but  simply  put  down  the  approxima- 
tions to  quarters  of  pounds :  — 

"A  fish  of  30  in.  weighs  I2j  Ibs.  A  fish  of  41  in.  weighs  29 \  Ibs. 

A  fish  of  31  in.  weighs  I2|  Ibs.  A  fish  of  42  in.  weighs  31!  Ibs. 

A  fish  of  32  in.  weighs  14   Ibs.  A  fish  of  43  in.  weighs  34   Ibs. 

A  fish  of  33  in.  weighs  15 \  Ibs.  A  fish  of  44  in.  weighs  36^  Ibs. 

A  fish  of  34  in.  weighs  i6|  Ibs.  A  fish  of  45  in.  weighs  39   Ibs. 

A  fish  of  35  in.  weighs  r8J  Ibs.  A  fish  of  46  in.  weighs  41  \  Ibs. 

A  fish  of  36  in.  weighs  20   Ibs.  A  fish  of  47  in.  weighs  44$  Ibs. 

A  fish  of  37  in.  weighs  2if  Ibs.  A  fish  of  48  in.  weighs  47$  Ibs. 

A  fish  of  38  in.  weighs  23$  Ibs.  A  fish  of  49  in.  weighs  50$  Ibs. 

A  fish  of  39  in.  weighs  25^  Ibs.  A  fish  of  50  in.  weighs  53$  Ibs." 
A  fish  of  40  in.  weighs  27$  Ibs. 

It  is  my  impression  that  there  may  be  very 
sensible  variations  from  this  table,  particularly  in 
large  fish,  depending  on  the  difference  in  con- 
dition. I  once  measured  accurately  a  female 


34  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

salmon  of  forty-one  and  a  half  pounds  and  her 
length  was  exactly  forty-three  inches.  So  short 
and  thick  was  she  that  I  am  sure  her  great  weight 
for  her  length  could  not  be  taken  as  affording  a 
guide  to  estimate  the  weights  of  other  fish.  As 
against  the  measurement  of  this  fish,  Mr.  Sturdy 
took  one  of  fifty  pounds  in  1900  on  the  Vosse  in 
Norway  which  verified  the  standard  used  in  com- 
piling the  above  table. 

Mr.  Bund  gives  an  instance  of  a  smolt  which 
he  marked,  and  which  was  captured  next  season 
on  its  first  return  from  the  sea,  weighing  twenty 
pounds.  This  was  a  growth  entirely  out  of  pro- 
portion to  that  usual  with  smolts  from  the  same 
ponds,  and  cannot  well  be  explained  from  any 
facts  within  our  knowledge,  nor  can  the  fact  of 
salmon  growing  so  much  larger  in  some  rivers 
than  in  others.  The  Upsalquitch  River,  an  afflu- 
ent of  the  Restigouche,  produces  salmon  which 
will  average  seven  to  nine  pounds,  though  a  rare 
big  one  is  found.  For  the  past  twenty  years  this 
river  has  been  stocked  with  the  fry  of  the  Resti- 
gouche salmon,  which  will  average  fully  twice  as 
large.  Certainly  the  millions  of  fry  of  a  bigger 
breed  put  in  this  river  ought  to  have  made  some 
difference  in  the  size  of  its  fish,  but  the  change,  if 


History  and  Habits  35 

any,  is  imperceptible.  Unless  the  fry  of  the  Res- 
tigouche  salmon  put  in  the  head  waters  of  the 
Upsalquitch  and  remaining  there  till  they  attain 
smolthood  obey  some  inherited  instinct,  and  on 
their  return  from  the  sea  pass  by  the  mouth  of 
the  Upsalquitch  and  continue  up  their  ancestral 
river,  it  is  proof  that  they  are  subjected  to  some 
conditions  at  sea  which  prevent  their  attaining 
the  size  of  the  fish  from  which  they  descend.  It 
is  quite  probable  that  there  are  conditions  of  feed- 
ing ground  at  sea  which  affect  the  growth  of 
salmon,  causing  those  of  some,  and  frequently 
neighboring,  rivers,  to  vary  materially  in  size.  I 
know  of  no  case  of  a  salmon  river  having  the 
character  of  its  fish  changed  by  stocking  it  with 
fry  from  elsewhere,  though  perhaps  the  experiment 
has  not  been  tried  often  and  intelligently  enough 
to  get  many  specific  facts  on  the  subject.  It 
seems,  however,  that  it  can  be  nothing  else  than 
a  question  of  food,  and  that  fry  from  a  river  pro- 
ducing small  fish,  if  put  in  a  stream  which  yielded 
large  ones,  would  grow  to  be  big  salmon,  and 
vice  versa. 

Other  theories  as  to  the  food  of  these  fish  are 
quoted  by  Mr.  Pennell,  and  it  is  certain  that  both 
here  and  in  Britain  the  salmon,  as  they  approach 


36  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

the  fresh  water,  feed  on  various  small  fishes,  eels, 
and  marine  Crustacea.  On  the  Gulf  coast  they 
pursue  shoals  of  smelt  and  capelin  as  they  ascend 
the  estuaries,  and  create  great  havoc  amongst 
these  small  fry,  but  they  probably  have  to  depend 
on  other  foods  in  their  more  permanent  marine 
habitations. 


CHAPTER  II 

WHERE  TO  BE  FOUND 

WHEN  the  salmon,  strong,  active,  and  brilliant 
in  his  silvery  armor  feels  the  impulse  to  revisit 
his  native  river,  he  would  certainly  abandon  the 
intention  could  he  have  any  idea  of  what  lay 
before  him  in  the  way  of  nets  along  the  shore  he 
coasts,  and  far  up  the  channel  of  the  river  he  is 
to  ascend  in  order  to  reach  his  birthplace.  These 
nets  on  all  accessible  streams  have,  with  the 
drifters,  spearers,  and  other  employers  of  illegal 
methods  of  destruction,  practically  exterminated 
the  salmon  from  the  many  excellent  rivers  of  the 
Atlantic  coast  of  the  United  States;  and  the 
same  causes  are  in  active  operation  in  such 
Canadian  rivers  as  fish  can  be  shipped  away 
from  at  a  profit.  The  various  reports  of  the 
Commissioners  of  Fish  and  Game  for  the  state 
of  Maine  show  a  most  discouraging  state  of 
affairs  so  far  as  salmon  are  concerned.  For 
instance,  the  Kennebec  River,  an  ideal  salmon 
stream,  was  divested  of  fish  by  the  building  of 

37 


38  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

a  dam  at  Augusta.  The  Penobscot,  which  could 
easily  supply  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars' 
worth  of  salmon  at  a  nominal  cost  if  the  very 
reasonable  and  necessary  existing  laws  were 
enforced,  is  fast  going  down  under  the  illegal 
fishing  and  the  pollution  of  its  water  by  the 
poisonous  chemicals  thrown  in  it  from  the  vari- 
ous manufacturing  establishments  near  its  mouth. 
The  St.  Croix,  owing  to  its  being  partly  in 
Canada,  where  the  laws  are  not  so  badly  en- 
forced as  with  us,  though  quite  badly  enough, 
has  done  rather  better,  but  is  gradually  growing 
worse.  The  Connecticut,  which  could  easily  be 
made  to  furnish  a  very  large  revenue  to  the 
state,  has  been  stocked  several  times;  but  when 
the  salmon  returned  to  the  river  they  were  all 
caught  by  the  netters  at  the  mouth,  in  viola- 
tion of  the  law,  and,  so  evenly  were  the  political 
parties  divided,  that  the  poachers  held  the 
balance  of  power,  and  a  governor  of  the  state 
told  me  that  either  party  which  might  try  to 
punish  their  depredations  would  inevitably  be 
ousted  from  power. 

The  Hudson,  as  to  which  there  is  some  doubt 
of  its  having  been  a  salmon  river,  —  though  it 
has  certainly  in  its  upper  waters  every  requisite 


Wbere  to  be  Found  39 

for  one, — was  stocked  with  fry  in  1882;  but  it 
was  not  until  1886,  four  years  after,  that  adult 
fish  were  seen  in  the  river,  and  those  which 
were  taken  at  the  Troy  dam,  illegally,  of  course, 
were  from  ten  to  sixteen  pounds  in  weight.  In 
one  year,  according  to  the  late  Mr.  Cheney,  State 
Fish  Culturist,  over  three  hundred  fish  from  ten 
to  thirty-eight  pounds  each  were  taken  in  nets 
in  the  lower  Hudson,  every  one  contrary  to  law. 
Fishways  have  been  built  by  the  state  at  Troy, 
Mechanicsville,  and  Thompson's  Mills.  I  have 
seen  but  one  of  them,  that  at  Mechanicsville, 
which  was  built  by  some  incompetent  person 
on  plans  of  his  own,  and  was  utterly  inadequate 
for  its  purpose.  At  this  Mechanicsville  dam 
salmon  gathered  in  small  numbers,  and  were 
caught  by  hooks  ostensibly  baited  with  pieces  of 
pork,  and  dragged  along  the  bottom  till  the 
"sportsmen"  at  the  other  end  could  feel  them 
against  a  fish,  when  a  hard  jerk  sometimes  fast- 
ened the  hook  in  the  luckless  creature.  I 
suppose  a  few  salmon  are  still  taken  and  sur- 
reptitiously sold  by  the  netters,  and  the  great 
state  of  New  York  has  had  no  officials  who 
knew  enough  or  were  honest  and  strong  enough 
to  take  means  to  enforce  the  laws  which  would 


40  Tbe  Atlantic  Salmon 

have  made  the  Hudson  as  productive  of  food 
at  a  very  slight  cost  as  twice  its  area  in  tillable 
land. 

While  much  has  been  done  by  artificial  propa- 
gation and  stocking  to  prevent  the  extermination 
of  salmon  and  to  introduce  them  in  depleted 
rivers,  these  means  alone  will  not  make  a  river 
good  or  keep  it  so.  Its  whole  length,  from 
mouth  to  source,  must  be  watched  to  insure  the 
safe  ascent  to  the  spawning  beds  of  a  sufficient 
number  of  fish  to  keep  up  the  supply,  and  to  look 
out  for  their  protection  while  engaged  in  the 
work  of  breeding  and  finding  their  way  back  to 
the  sea.  The  methods  in  vogue  in  the  United 
States,  where  we  have  so  many  rivers  capable  of 
producing  unlimited  quantities  of  salmon  at 
nominal  cost,  are  to  put  the  young  fry  in  the 
head  waters  and  then  leave  them  for  the  rest  of 
their  short  lives  to  their  own  devices.  They  get 
down  to  the  sea  all  right,  but  when  they  come 
back  for  the  first  time  they  are  practically  all 
taken  by  the  netters.  The  law  in  New  York 
and  Connecticut  provides  that  any  salmon  taken 
by  the  shad  nets  shall  be  released,  but  of  course 
this  is  never  done.  A  netter  told  me  he  took 
a  salmon  of  thirty-eight  pounds  just  above 


Wbere  to  be  Found  41 

Albany  in  1897.  The  only  method  of  stocking 
our  rivers  with  salmon  is  to  have  them  prop- 
erly guarded  their  entire  length,  and  to  enforce 
the  laws  as  to  nets,  which  are  now,  as  to  the 
Hudson,  substantially  unheeded.  Thirty  years 
ago  vast  numbers  of  shad  were  taken  above 
Albany  in  this  river,  and  also  abundance  of 
sturgeon.  Now  the  river  is  so  nearly  closed 
by  nets  below  that  no  shad  has  been  caught 
above  Albany  for  the  past  three  years,  and  I 
doubt  if  a  sturgeon  has  been  seen  for  a  much 
longer  period.  This  has  resulted,  of  course,  in 
a  great  decrease  in  the  catch  of  both  shad  and 
sturgeon  in  the  lower  waters,  and  a  consequent 
diminution,  not  only  of  a  valuable  article  of 
food,  but  of  the  profits  of  the  very  men  whose 
violation  of  the  laws  has  created  the  scarcity. 

In  all  countries  there  seems  to  be  an  irresist- 
ible impulse  amongst  otherwise  law-abiding 
people  to  break  the  enactments  regarding  fish 
and  game,  and  such  have  never  been  enforced 
without  extraordinary  efforts  on  the  part  of  the 
state.  Legislators  in  this  country  have  pretty 
uniformly  been  in  sympathy  with  the  law- 
breakers in  this  respect,  ignoring  entirely  the 
important  economic  question  of  the  value  to  the 


4^  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

people  of  a  supply  of  cheap  and  nutritious  food 
which  could  be  easily  created  by  utilizing  the 
barren  waters  of  our  rivers.  The  value  of  the 
salmon  fisheries  of  the  United  Kingdom  is 
estimated  to  be  from  ,£750,000  to  ,£800,000  per 
year,  and  certainly  those  of  the  Atlantic  coast 
of  the  British  possessions  in  North  America  now 
accessible,  under  a  judicious  system  of  protection 
and  propagation  properly  managed,  would  shortly 
exceed  this  amount  in  value.  The  Atlantic  trib- 
utaries of  the  United  States  where  salmon  are 
now  practically  exterminated  would,  under  proper 
conditions,  yield  an  approximation  to  this  sum  in 
the  next  ten  years;  but  until  the  present  system 
of  mismanagement  is  changed,  we  shall  have  to 
depend  for  our  salmon  on  Canada,  where  the 
persecuted  fish  have  a  somewhat  better  chance 
than  with  us. 

The  British  possessions  in  North  America 
undoubtedly  afford  the  greatest  field  for  the 
salmon  angler  of  the  future  of  any  part  of  the 
globe.  Beginning  at  the  south  in  the  river  St. 
Lawrence,  and  farther  east  in  Nova  Scotia, 
which  has  a  number  of  small  and  fair  rivers,  and 
following  the  north  shores  of  the  river  and  of  the 
Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  up  to  the  Strait  of  Belle  Isle, 


IVbere  to  be  Found  43 

there  are  scores  of  tributary  rivers  abounding 
with  salmon.  Many  of  these  well  up  the  north 
shore  have  not  been  tested  sufficiently  to  allow 
of  any  just  estimate  of  their  capacities.  The 
Miramichi  and  Nepisiguit  are  probably  the 
best  of  those  south  of  the  Restigouche  in  the 
Bay  of  Chaleurs.  This  river  is  a  large  and 
beautiful  stream  running  back  between  the 
provinces  of  Quebec  and  New  Brunswick,  a 
distance  of  over  two  hundred  miles,  with  four 
large  tributaries  —  the  Metapedia,  the  Upsal- 
quitch,  the  Patapedia,  and  the  Kedgwick.  It 
flows  in  a  generally  northeast  direction  and 
has  in  its  entire  course  no  falls  or  rapids  which 
a  canoe  cannot  surmount.  The  protection  of 
this  river  was  undertaken  by  the  Dominion 
government  in  about  1870,  and  the  stream  was 
leased  in  two  divisions  to  Mr.  (now  Sir  San- 
ford)  Fleming  and  to  Mr.  Bridges.  In  1880  the 
riparian  rights  were  decided  by  the  English  Privy 
Council  to  belong  to  the  owners  of  riparian  real 
estate,  and  were  taken  away  from  the  Dominion 
government.  The  Ristigouche  Salmon  Club  has 
since  that  time  acquired  by  purchase,  and  by  lease 
from  the  provincial  government  of  the  fishing  in 
front  of  ungranted  lands,  a  large  portion  of 


44  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

the  best  angling  on  the  river,  and  has  been 
very  largely  occupied,  with  other  riparian  owners 
and  lessees,  in  vainly  trying  to  induce  the 
provincial  and  Dominion  government  and  offi- 
cials to  enforce  the  laws  they  have  made  relat- 
ing to  the  protection  of  the  persecuted  salmon. 
Under  the  guise  of  carrying  on  a  government 
hatchery  at  the  Tideway,  the  officials  in  charge 
have  for  years  entirely  closed  one  channel  of  the 
river  with  a  net,  and  arranged  another  with  a 
wing  from  the  farther  shore,  which  practically 
prevents  fish  from  ascending  a  second  channel. 
The  nets  held  under  government  licenses  are 
nearly  all  extended  farther  into  the  channel 
than  is  legal,  the  regulation  being  that  only  one- 
third  of  it  may  be  covered  with  them,  and  these 
are  very  often  not  lifted,  as  provided  by  law, 
from  Saturday  night  to  Monday  morning.  The 
river  under  this  condition  of  mismanagement  is 
deteriorating,  and  doubtless  would  now  be 
substantially  worthless  but  for  the  very  large 
sums  annually  expended  by  the  riparian  owners 
in  guardianship. 

If  the  laws  were  enforced  on  this  magnificent 
river,  it  could,  undoubtedly,  be  made  in  five 
years  to  produce,  for  a  considerably  smaller 


45 

number  of  nets  than  are  now  licensed,  three 
or  four  times  the  number  of  salmon,  and  the 
two  governments  of  Quebec  and  New  Bruns- 
wick could  get  a  proportionate  increase  in  the 
rentals  from  ungranted  water  fronts.  They 
certainly  would  fetch  it  with  tenfold  the  number 
of  salmon  in  the  river,  and  there  could  be  no 
question  as  to  the  feasibility  of  having  them 
there  in  a  few  years. 

The  rod  fishing  in  this  river  now  yields  about 
one  thousand  to  twelve  hundred  salmon  and 
grilse  yearly,  which  is  nothing  like  what  it 
should  do.  It  is  impossible  to  get  any  reliable 
statistics  as  to  the  catches  of  the  netters,  as  it 
is  their  policy  to  return  as  few  fish  as  possible. 
As  an  example  of  this,  some  years  since  I, 
with  a  friend  and  the  head  guardian  of  the 
river,  went  down  to  the  tide  head  early  one 
morning  to  ascertain  the  catch  of  a  certain  net 
stretched  more  than  halfway  across  the  channel. 
Three  men  were  lifting  it  when  we  reached  them, 
and  we  counted  in  the  meshes  of  the  net  ninety 
salmon.  I  reported  this  to  the  Commissioner 
of  Marine  and  Fisheries  at  Ottawa,  and  a  few 
weeks  thereafter  received  from  him  the  affidavits 
of  five  or  six  persons,  who  swore  they  lifted  the 


46  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

net  in  question  on  the  morning  we  were  there, 
and  only  eight  salmon  were  in  it,  which  was  the 
largest  catch  of  the  season.  One  of  the  indi- 
cations of  the  deterioration  of  a  river  is  the 
diminution  in  the  average  size  of  the  fish,  which 
shows  that  an  increasing  proportion  of  the  adult 
salmon  is  being  taken.  It  is  a  very  sure  sign, 
even  when  the  numbers  show  no  decrease,  as  a 
given  year's  crop  of  small  fish  may  be  greater 
than  those  of  preceding  years,  and  a  considerable 
proportion  of  its  individuals  may  not  have  visited 
fresh  water  as  grilse;  but  when  fewer  large  fish 
are  taken,  it  shows  a  falling  off  in  the  supply. 
The  average  size  of  Restigouche  fish  has  dimin- 
ished four  or  five  pounds  since  1883  or  1884. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  Bay  of  Chaleurs  we 
have  the  Grand  Bonaventure  and  the  famous 
Grand  Cascapedia.  This  river  was  long  reserved 
by  the  Dominion  government  for  the  use  of  the 
governor  general,  but  after  its  ownership  became 
vested  in  the  Province  of  Quebec  it  was  leased  to 
a  club,  i.e.  the  part  of  it  formerly  reserved.  It  is 
comparatively  well  protected,  and  full  of  large  fish. 
One  of  fifty-four  pounds  was  taken  some  years 
since  by  Mr.  Dun,  and  the  average,  one  year  with 
another,  is  probably  above  twenty-five  pounds. 


Wbere  to  be  Found  47 

The  rules  of  the  club  provide  that  if  a  member 
has  a  guest  only  one  rod  may  be  fished,  and  the 
fish  killed  by  the  guest  are  charged  to  the  score 
of  the  member.  Only  eight  fish  per  day  can  be 
taken  by  any  one  rod.  As  an  instance  of  what 
has  been  done  on  this  great  river,  Mr.  Kennedy 
of  New  York  fished  there  from  June  19  to  and 
including  July  3,  1900,  having  with  him  a  guest 
for  the  last  four  days.  Some  of  the  time  the  fish- 
ing was  much  hindered  by  the  great  quantity  of 
logs  floating  down  the  river,  and  several  days 
were  broken  by  heavy  rain. 

The  catch  was,  in  thirteen  fishing  days :  — 

Mr.  Kennedy,  64  salmon  1725  Ibs.,  average  26^  Ibs. 
Guest,  8  salmon    242  Ibs.,  average  30^    Ibs. 

Largest  fish  (taken  by  Mr.  Kennedy)  forty-four 
pounds ;  there  were  five  fish  of  forty  pounds  and 
over,  and  twenty-four  of  thirty  pounds  and  over. 
The  only  river  I  know  which  can  compare  with 
this  is  the  Grand  Romaine  on  the  north  shore  — 
a  large  river,  but  only  fishable  a  short  distance 
from  the  sea  by  reason  of  a  large  fall.  I  have  no 
statistics  of  this  fishing,  but  the  average  weight  is 
very  large.  I  saw  on  one  of  the  Gulf  port  steam- 
ers, twenty  years  since,  four  fish  caught  there, 


48  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

which  a  gentleman  was  taking  home,  the  weights 
being  from  forty-two  to  forty-five  pounds.  Occa- 
sionally the  angler  has  to  go  out  to  sea  in  his 
canoe  in  following  fish  hooked  in  this  river. 

The  St.  Anne  de  Monts  is  another  good  river 
of  the  north  shore,  where  the  fish  run  large.  The 
Grand  and  Dartmouth  and  others  in  the  Gaspe 
district  are  good,  and  the  fish  are  of  fair  average 
size  with  some  large  ones.  The  Godbout  on  the 
St.  Lawrence  is  a  remarkable  river.  It  was  owned 
by  the  late  Allan  Gilmour  of  Ottawa,  and  is  now 
the  property  of  Mr.  Manuel.  I  have  before  me 
the  score  of  fish  taken  from  1859  to  1894.  A 
catch  of  fifteen  to  twenty  salmon  to  one  rod  in  a 
day  is  not  at  all  unusual.  Mr.  Gilmour  took 
forty-six  on  July  10,  1865,  and  Comeau  (I  think 
the  guardian)  took  on 

July  9, '74,  5  7  salmon 

10  25  salmon 

11  34  salmon 

13  40  salmon 

14  25  salmon 

15  1 6  salmon 

1 6  37  salmon 

17  1 6  salmon 

1 8  28  salmon 

20  27  salmon,  &c., 


Where  to  be  Found  49 

the  whole  score  for  eighteen  days,  including  these 
specified,  being  three  hundred  and  sixty  salmon 
weighing  thirty-eight  hundred  and  thirty  pounds. 

The  nearest  approach  to  such  a  day  as  this  of 
which  I  have  heard  was  the  bag  of  Sir  Bache 
Cunard  on  the  Grimersta,  in  the  island  of  Lewis, 
off  the  west  coast  of  Scotland,  which  was  fifty- 
four  fish  in  one  day  and  thirty-four  the  day  follow- 
ing; the  average  weight,  however,  was  but  seven 
pounds,  all  with  the  fly.  The  largest  catch  that  I 
have  heard  of  in  Britain  is  that  reported  by  Mr. 
Senior,  of  Lord  Louth,  on  the  Beauly,  where  he 
killed  one  hundred  forty-six  fish  in  five  days  — 
whether  consecutive  days  or  not  is  not  stated. 

The  fish  are  small  on  the  Godbout,  but  so  is 
the  river,  which  is  very  broken,  and  fished  almost, 
if  not  entirely,  from  the  shore. 

The  Moisie  and  the  Mingan,  farther  down,  are 
good  and  the  fish  are  large,  averaging,  I  should 
say,  over  twenty-two  pounds.  The  Natashquan 
is  a  good-sized  stream  and  full  of  small  fish  of 
from  eight  to  twelve  pounds.  The  Natashquan 
marks  about  the  eastern  limit  of  the  rivers  which 
are  at  all  well  known,  though  a  number  of  those 
between  there  and  the  Strait  of  Belle  Isle  have 
been  fished  in  a  superficial  way. 


50  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

Two  of  my  friends  were  on  the  Masquarrie,  the 
Washicoutai,  and  the  Olemancheeboo  ten  years 
since,  and  had  splendid  sport.  On  the  last-named 
river  one  rod  took  sixteen  fish,  averaging  seven- 
teen pounds,  in  an  afternoon  from  one  pool.  I 
have  since  been  there.  The  banks  of  the  pool 
where  the  sixteen  fish  were  taken  are  of  solid 
rock,  affording  good  standing  and  walking  facili- 
ties. Where  the  fish  all  take  is  an  easy  cast  from 
opposite  the  top  of  the  pool,  which  is  short  with 
a  rather  stiff  rapid  at  its  foot.  All  the  fish  go 
down  this  rapid  after  being  hooked,  and  are  killed 
in  a  deep  pool  just  below.  The  year  I  visited 
this  river  was  a  very  late  one,  and  the  salmon  had 
not  ascended  when  we  left,  the  I2th  of  July.  So 
we  got  nothing  but  trout  and  a  number  of  the 
beautiful,  richly  colored  arctic  char  —  the  first  I 
had  ever  seen. 

I  find  I  have  omitted  in  its  order  the  St.  John 
River,  which  is  above  the  Natashquan,  and  is 
noted  for  the  numbers  of  its  salmon,  mosquitoes, 
and  flies.  These  last  are  the  curse  of  the  north 
shore  rivers,  and  unless  anglers  going  there  are 
very  well  protected  with  gloves,  veils,  etc.,  and 
are  willing  to  go  unwashed  after  their  hands  and 
faces  are  well  glazed  over  with  tar  and  oil,  which 


Where  to  be  Found  51 

is  on  the  whole  by  far  the  best  defence  against 
flies,  they  are  likely  to  suffer  more  than  almost 
any  sport  will  repay. 

The  Esquimaux  River  in  the  Strait  of  Belle 
Isle  is,  judging  from  such  few  reports  on  it  as  I 
have  heard,  probably  the  greatest  known  salmon 
river.  It  is  very  large  and  long,  without  heavy 
falls  to  prevent  the  salmon  from  ascending  to  its 
upper  waters.  The  fish  are  in  vast  numbers  and 
of  large  size  —  perhaps  not  so  large  as  those  of 
the  Grand  Romaine  or  Cascapedia,  but  well  up 
in  that  class.  This  river  has  been  leased  by  Mr. 
J.  J.  Hill,  who  also  has  the  St.  John,  and  informs 
me  that  in  1900  the  catch  at  the  one  stand  of 
nets  at  the  mouth  of  the  Esquimaux  was  fifty- 
one  thousand  salmon.  The  St.  John,  in  1900, 
fished  for  an  average  of  about  eight  days  by  six 
rods,  yielded  two  hundred  and  thirty-six  salmon, 
nearly  thirty  a  day  —  biggest  fish  twenty-eight 
pounds,  average  133^-.  This  year,  1901,  owing 
to  the  party  reaching  the  river  rather  late,  the 
fishing  was  not  so  good,  though  a  catch  of  about 
eighty  thousand  pounds  was  reported  to  have 
been  made  by  the  nets  at  the  mouth.  On  the 
Godbout  in  1901  three  rods  took  in  twelve  days 
two  hundred  and  seventeen  salmon. 


52  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

The  vast,  practically  unexplored  region  north 
of  the  Strait  of  Belle  Isle,  extending  up  to  Davis 
Strait  and  to  the  west,  including  a  thousand 
miles  of  shore  line  of  Hudson  Bay,  is  undoubt- 
edly full  of  salmon  rivers  where  a  fly  has  never 
been  cast.  I  have  heard  vague  rumors  of  the 
enormous  quantities  of  salmon  in  the  rivers  just 
north  of  the  Strait  of  Belle  Isle,  the  Hamilton 
being  especially  spoken  of.  At  the  present  ratio 
of  destruction  those  wanting  salmon  fishing  are 
quite  likely  to  have  to  look  as  far  as  these  remote 
regions  for  it  in  the  next  twenty-five  years,  but 
now  the  lack  of  means  of  transportation  makes  it 
out  of  the  question  for  any  to  attempt  going  far- 
ther than  the  Natashquan,  except  by  means  of 
a  good  sea-going  yacht,  or  one  of  the  fishing 
schooners  built  for  the  dangerous  navigation  of 
the  north  shore. 


CHAPTER  III 

TACKLE 

"  A  man  that  goeth  to  the  River  for  his  pleasure  must  under- 
stand when  he  goeth  there  to  set  forth  his  Tackles.  The  first 
thing  he  must  do  is  to  observe  the  Sun,  the  Wind,  the  Moon, 
the  Starres,  &  the  Wanes  of  the  Air,  to  set  forth  his  Tackles 
according  to  the  times  and  Seasons  to  goe  for  his  pleasure  & 
some  profit."  —  BARKER'S  "Art  of  Angling,"  1653. 

THE  attempts  at  information  which  are  com- 
prised in  the  foregoing  chapters  of  this  work  I 
trust  may  in  some  manner  prepare  the  reader  for 
the  more  important  and  practical  features  which 
are  to  follow.  There  is  hardly  a  pleasure  of  early 
spring  more  delightful  to  the  angler  than  that  of 
getting  out  his  rods,  reels,  and  lines  after  their 
long  rest,  looking  them  over  to  prove  that  every- 
thing is  in  good  order  for  the  approaching  tests 
they  are  to  undergo,  to  see  that  the  lines  are 
unfrayed  and  strong,  that  the  reels  work  well  and 
smoothly,  that  the  windings  on  the  rods  are  per- 
fect, and  the  rods  themselves  are  as  pliant  and 
trustworthy  as  they  have  been  in  past  years,  and 

53 


54  Tbe  Atlantic  Salmon 

have  not  forgotten  their  cunning  gained  in  many 
an  exciting  contest  with  a  lively  salmon. 

The  spring  examination  is  the  appetizer  for  the 
coming  banquet,  and  the  imperative  call  for  it  is 
felt  when  the  warm  breezes  from  the  south  swell 
the  buds,  when  the  air  grows  soft  and  balmy,  and 
you  know  that  the  salmon  are  growing  uneasy  in 
their  mysterious  haunts  in  the  ocean's  depths, 
and,  perhaps  unconsciously,  preparing  for  the 
ascent  of  their  native  rivers.  As  "  The  Tyne 
Fisher's  Call"  in  "The  Fisher's  Garland"  for 
1831,  begins:  — 

"  The  snow  has  left  the  verdant  heights, 

Which  stand  by  rapid  Tyne, 
And  spring  invites  the  blithesome  wights 
Who  wield  the  rod  and  line," 

so  we,  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic,  feel  the  fever 
in  our  veins,  and  feed  it  by  these  preparations,  as 
pleasant  as  they  are  necessary. 

Although  salmon  may  be  taken  with  a  poor 
rod  and  an  imperfect  reel,  a  sound,  strong  line  is 
an  absolute  necessity.  Strength  without  bulk  is 
the  first  consideration.  I  am  obliged  to  differ 
with  those  who  assume  that,  because  a  dead  pull 
of  about  three  pounds  at  the  end  of  a  line  will 
put  as  big  a  strain  on  the  rod  as  any  salmon  ever 


INDIANS   SPEARING   SALMON 


TOAD    BROOK    POOL,    RESTIGOUCHE   RIVER 


Tackle  55 

does,  the  pull  on  the  line  in  playing  a  fish  does 
not  exceed  the  weight  shown  by  the  scale.  With 
sometimes  twenty  to  fifty  yards  of  line  under  water 
the  salmon  will  generally,  if  not  always,  get  a  much 
greater  pull  than  three  pounds,  as  he  has  to  over- 
come the  friction  of  the  water  on  the  line  in  addi- 
tion to  that  of  the  bent  rod  and  the  resistance  of 
the  reel,  even  when  going  straight  away.  More 
frequently,  however,  he  goes  across-stream  or  in  a 
diagonal  direction  to  its  current,  which  greatly 
increases  the  strain  on  the  line.  If  after  going 
down-stream  the  fish  turns  and  runs  up,  "  drown- 
ing the  line,"  as  it  is  called,  he  has  to  pull  up 
against  the  current  the  whole  weight  of  the  sub- 
merged line  until  the  angler  can  get  below  him, 
which  is  often  impracticable.  In  these  cases  the 
tension  on  the  line  is  very  much  greater  than  a 
straight  pull  of  three  pounds  would  indicate,  and 
a  large  amount  of  effort  on  the  part  of  the  salmon 
is  exerted  before  the  result  of  it  is  felt  on  the  rod. 
In  towing  a  boat  up-stream  with  a  long  line,  if  it 
becomes  "  bellied "  by  being  slack  and  carried 
out  in  the  stream  by  the  current,  a  large  amount 
of  power,  has  to  be  exerted  by  the  horse  or  man 
pulling  the  boat  along,  before  the  boat  feels  it  at 
all,  the  line  having  first  to  overcome  the  force 


$6  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

exerted  against  it  by  the  current.  So  it  is  with  a 
line  of  length  to  which  a  salmon  is  attached. 
Again,  when  a  salmon  after  a  run  down  or  across 
stream  turns,  runs  up-stream  and  jumps,  often 
appearing  yards  above  where  you  think  he  is, 
he  has  to  pull  out  of  the  water  the  weight  of  the 
line  between  him  and  you  which  is  "  bellied " 
by  the  current  and  by  his  course,  and  the  angler, 
though  he  have  a  strong  pressure  on  the  fish, 
may  not  feel  it  any  stronger  when  he  jumps 
three  feet  in  the  air.  With  a  long  bellied  line 
out,  though  it  is  advisable  to  follow  this  rule  of 
lowering  the  rod  as  the  fish  jumps,  I  don't  believe 
it  is  effective  in  reducing  the  strain  a  particle,  as 
the  fish  is  back  in  the  water  again  long  before 
the  dipping  of  the  rod  could  act  on  the  line  curv- 
ing between  the  angler  and  the  fish  and  pressed 
downward  through  a  long  distance  by  a  rapid 
current.  Enough  salmon  break  loose  in  their 
jumps  to  prove  that  on  such  occasions  a  much 
stronger  force  than  usual  is  brought  against  the 
line,  if  there  were  no  other  way  of  demonstrating 
this  fact.  Mr.  Wells,  in  "Fly  Rods  and  Fly 
Tackle,"  gives  some  interesting  and  ingenious 
experiments  as  to  the  strain  exerted  in  pounds 
and  ounces  by  trout,  which  show  it  to  be  much 


Tackle  57 

greater  than  would  be  supposed  from  the  result 
given  by  attaching  a  spring  balance  to  a  line  and 
having  some  one  hold  the  rod  up  and  pull  against 
the  balance  as  much  as  the  rod  would  bear. 

In  quick  water  a  trout  of  i  Ib.    9  oz.  pulled  2  Ibs. 
In  quick  water  a  trout  of  2  Ib.    2  oz.  pulled  2  Ibs.  12  oz. 
In  quick  water  a  trout  of  3  Ib.       —  pulled  4  Ibs.    4  oz. 
In  quick  water  a  trout  of  o  Ib.  1 2  oz.  pulled  i  Ib.      4  oz. 
In  quick  water  a  trout  of  3  Ib.    4  oz.  pulled  5  Ibs. 

In  "  comparatively  still  water  "  a  trout  of  three 
pounds  four  ounces  pulled  four  pounds  eight 
ounces.  These  experiments  were  made  by  attach- 
ing the  spring  balance  to  the  line  beyond  the 
point  of  the  rod. 

The  American  braided,  waterproofed  silk  line 
long  bore  the  palm  as  the  best  one  made,  but 
this  high  reputation  has  been  greatly  dimmed  in 
the  past  few  years,  during  which  time  I,  with 
many  others,  have  found  these  lines  distinctly 
inferior  to  their  former  reputation.  They  do  not 
seem  to  have  anything  like  their  old  durability, 
and  after  one  season's  use  are  apt  to  knuckle 
and  grow  very  tender  for  a  distance  from  the 
end,  sometimes  breaking  suddenly  where  casual 
observation  would  show  them  sound.  A  new 
line  has  lately  appeared  in  Britain  and  here 


58  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

called  the  "  Olinea,"  which  appears  very  good, 
and  possibly  may  prove  equal  to  the  old  line.  I 
have  tried  it  but  one  season,  when  it  was  satis- 
factory. Lines  should  be  selected  with  reference 
to  the  rods  on  which  they  are  to  be  used,  a  very 
light  line  on  a  heavy  rod  being  as  objectionable 
as  a  heavy  line  on  a  light  rod :  in  the  first  in- 
stance the  weight  of  the  line  is  not  sufficient 
to  bring  out  the  spring  of  the  big  rod ;  and  in 
the  second,  the  strength  of  the  rod  not  being 
great  enough  to  lift  a  good  length  of  the  heavy 
line  from  the  water. 

The  tapered  line  I  do  not  regard  as  desirable. 
It  looks  rather  nicely  when  not  in  use,  but 
adds  nothing  to  the  casting  qualities ;  and  when 
the  line  is  shortened  by  losing  a  portion  of  it, 
which  is  sure  to  happen,  its  only  possible  advan- 
tage over  a  line  of  uniform  size  is  gone.  Mr. 
Cholmondeley  Pennell  says  he  "found  there  was 
no  appreciable  difference  in  calm  weather  (be- 
tween tapered  and  '  level '  lines),  but  when 
casting  across,  or  still  more  against  a  sharp 
wind,  the  '  swelled '  line  went  out  decidedly 
straighter  and  more  easily."  So  soon  as  the  end 
of  a  line  is  at  all  frayed  or  knuckles  in  places, 
and  can  be  easily  bent  at  a  right  angle  even 


Tackle  59 

though  it  is  strong  and  will  stand  quite  a  hard 
pull,  then  is  the  time  to  cut  it  off  as  far  as  the 
portion  which  is  absolutely  sound ;  for  in  such 
places  the  line  will  often  break  with  the 
rushes  of  a  fish  directly  after  it  has  stood  a 
pull  of  eight  or  ten  pounds  or  more.  It  is  not 
safe,  and  he  who  continues  using  it  will  at  last 
do  so  to  his  sorrow.  A  line  of  one  hundred 
yards  is  quite  long  enough  for  general  use,  and 
one  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  yards  is  ample  for 
any  emergency  likely  to  occur.  By  cutting  in 
two  a  line  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  yards,  and 
having  each  part  neatly  spliced  to  the  end  of  a 
thin  linen  Cuttyhunk  bass  line  of  one  hundred 
yards,  you  get  two  lines  of  one  hundred  and  sixty 
yards  each  which  occupy  much  less  reel  space 
than  one  hundred  twenty  yards  of  salmon  line, 
and  are  quite  as  strong  and  durable,  besides 
beino:  more  economical.  Salmon  lines  should 

O 

be  unwound  from  the  reel  and  dried  thoroughly 
as  soon  as  practicable  after  being  used.  This 
can  be  done  without  taking  the  reel  off  the  rod 
or  removing  the  casting  line,  by  simply  pulling 
the  line  from  the  reel,  the  rod  being  hung  on 
hooks  or  cleats,  and  leaving  it  on  the  ground  or 
floor  beneath  in  loose  coils,  which  will  soon 


60  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

become  perfectly  dry  by  exposure  to  the  air  if 
under  cover.  Lines  should  be  tested  before 
going  into  use  at  the  beginning  of  the  season, 
and  frequently  during  use  in  the  parts  of  them 
exposed  to  the  water. 

Casting  Lines  or  Leaders 

Every  one  knows  that  these  useful  and  in 
many  cases  indispensable  parts  of  the  angler's 
outfit  are  made  from  the  silkworm,  though  not, 
as  many  suppose,  from  the  entrails  of  this 
creature.  The  gut  is  in  reality  the  unspun  silk 
of  the  worm,  which,  instead  of  being  allowed  to 
be  used  for  a  cocoon,  is  taken  from  the  insect 
prematurely.  The  worms  are  selected  just 
before  they  are  about  to  begin  spinning,  which 
is  known  by  the  attendants  from  certain  signs 
in  the  caterpillar  —  the  cessation  of  feeding,  and 
the  appearance  at  the  mouth  of  a  small  filament 
of  silk.  Mr.  H.  P.  Wells  in  his  book  on  "  Fly 
Rods  and  Fly  Tackle"  describes  at  length  the 
operation  of  obtaining  the  gut,  from  which  I 
condense  the  following:  When  the  worms  are 
ready  to  spin  they  are  immersed  in  a  pickle  of 
vinegar  and  water  for  several  hours.  They  are 
then  removed,  seized  at  each  end,  and  forcibly 


Tackle  6 1 

torn  apart,  disclosing  the  two  silk  sacs,  which 
are  about  twice  the  length  of  the  worm.  These 
are  taken  by  the  operator  at  each  end,  stretched 
out  to  the  desired  length,  and  placed  upon 
a  piece  of  board,  where  they  harden  almost 
immediately  on  exposure  to  the  air.  Later  the 
gut  is  washed  in  pure  water,  and  hung  up  where 
a  current  of  air  will  pass  through  and  dry  it. 
When  dry,  the  strands  are  tied  up  in  bundles, 
and  sold  to  those  who  cleanse  them  from  the 
little  adhering  filaments  of  the  sacs,  and  prepare 
them  for  market.  The  best  gut  is  the  longest, 
the  roundest,  and  the  most  transparent,  and, 
of  course,  the  scarcest.  Good  salmon  gut  should 
be  sixteen  to  eighteen  inches  long,  though  it  is 
becoming  harder  year  by  year  to  get  it  of  this 
length  and  perfect.  Mr.  Wells  holds  out  a 
remote  prospect  of  gut  being  produced  in  this 
country  of  a  very  much  greater  length  than  any 
now  or  formerly  in  use.  He  prints  a  letter  from 
a  Mr.  Garlick  of  Bedford,  Ohio,  who  states  that 
he  has  produced  gut  from  the  Attacus  cecropia 
eight  or  nine  feet  long  and  strong  enough  to 
hold  a  salmon,  and  quotes  from  an  article  by  Mr. 
C.  F.  Orvis,  an  old  angler  and  fly  tier,  which  says, 
"  I  have  in  my  possession  a  round,  perfect  strand 


62  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

of  gut  which  is  now  six  feet  long,  and  a  piece  has 
been  broken  from  it ;  it  is  large  and  strong ;  it 
was  drawn  from  some  big  silkworms  by  a  man 
in  New  Jersey."  What  a  boon  it  would  be  to 
anglers  if  gut  such  as  this  were  attainable. 
Chitty  says  in  "  The  Fly  Fisher's  Text-book," 
"  Each  piece  should  be  also  to  the  teeth  as  hard 
as  wire  and  transparent  as  glass,  which  testifies 
strength,  freedom  from  unravelled  fibres  that  are 
attended  with  an  inclination  to  split  or  peel ; 
knotted  roughness  which  shows  almost  actual 
rottenness,"  etc.  While  very  few  anglers  in  this 
country  tie  their  own  casting  lines,  it  is  desirable 
for  all  to  know  how  a  broken  leader  can  be  mended, 
how  to  make  a  proper  knot  for  the  loop  in  the 
end,  and  how  to  fasten  a  casting  line  which  has 
no  loop  at  the  end  to  the  loop  or  eye  of  a  hook. 
First,  I  should  warn  all  to  eschew,  without 
exception,  any  casting  lines  where  silk  whipping 
or  lapping  is  used.  This  is  said  to  prevent  the 
knots  from  cutting  where  the  strands  of  gut  are 
tied ;  but  the  advantage  is  very  questionable,  and 
is  much  more  than  neutralized  by  the  silk  whip- 
ping growing  white  after  a  few  days'  use,  which 
wears  off  the  varnish,  and  the  invariable  loosen- 
ing of  the  ends,  always  resulting  in  the  angler 


Tackle  63 

being  obliged  to  take  off  the  whipping  entirely, 
and  in  frequently  having  to  retie  the  knots  to 
which  it  was  applied.  I  copy  from  the  Badmin- 
ton the  single  fisherman's  knot  for  tying  strands 
of  gut. 

B 


"  The  two  ends  of  the  gut  A  A  are  laid  parallel 
to  each  other,  being  held  in  that  position  between 
the  first  finger  and  the  thumb  of  the  left  hand 
at  the  point  and  in  the  position  in  which  they 
are  to  be  joined.  A  half-hitch  knot  BB  is  then 
made  by  the  right  hand  with  the  end  of  each 
strand  alternately  around  the  strand  of  the  other, 
and  each  separately  drawn  tight."  When  the 
knot  is  drawn  tightly  together,  it  forms  a  very 
neat  and  strong  union  of  the  strands  of  gut,  and 
the  ends  may  be  cut  off  as  closely  as  possible. 
The  double  knot  is  perhaps  even  less  liable  to 
slip,  and  is  the  one  generally  used  in  tying  salmon 
casts.  "  It  is  made  by  taking  two  double  instead 
of  two  single  half-hitches,  the  end  with  which 
each  half-knot  is  tied  is  passed  twice  instead 
of  once  around  the  central  link,  and  through  the 
loop  in  the  manner  shown  by  the  engraving." 


64  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

For  making  a  loop  at  the  end  of  the  casting  line 
the  very  simple  one  below  is  quite  as  good  as  any, 
and  so  easy  as  to  be  within  the  knowledge  of  any 
child  of  ten  years. 


Frequently  one  wants  to  fasten  the  casting  line 
to  the  fly  when  there  is  no  loop  on  the  former,  as 
it  makes  a  neater  knot,  and  the  loop  is  often 
objectionable  by  reason  of  its  bulk,  in  low  clear 
water.  "  Tippets  "  or  single  strands  of  gut  with 
a  small  loop  at  one  end  to  fasten  to  the  casting 
line  are  much  used  in  Britain  instead  of  the  ordi- 
nary and  frequently  clumsy  and  bulky  loop.  To 
attach  the  fly  to  one  of  these  "  tippets  "  or  to  the 
plain  end  of  the  casting  line  I  have  found,  after 
many  years  of  use,  the  "  figure  8  knot "  is  the  best. 


Although  the  knot  is  shown  on  a  turn-down-eyed 
hook,  it  can  be  used  just  as  well  on  any  gut  or 
other  loop,  and  is  the  strongest  and  most  conven- 
ient I  know  for  fastening  the  casting  line  to  the 


Tackle  65 

reel  line.  In  "  Figure  A  "  the  casting  line  being 
passed  through  the  eye  or  loop,  and  always  from 
the  back  of  the  hook,  a  half-hitch  is  made  by  turn- 


FlGUBE  A. 

ing  the  gut  once  around  the  shank  of  the  hook,  or 
fly,  then  between  the  shank  and  the  gut  below  the 
eye.  In  "Figure  B"  the  knot  is  shown  finished  all 
but  being  drawn  tight.  The  end  of  the  gut  after 
the  completion  of  the  half-hitch  being  passed 
around  the  gut  beyond  the  eye  and  above,  not  be- 


FIGURE  B. 

>  it  when  the  hook  is  held  in  the  position  shown, 
then  tuck  the  end  through  the  loop  first  formed 
on  the  back  of  the  hook  in  making  the  half-hitch, 
and  holding  fast  the  end  of  the  gut,  pull  tightly 
the  part  of  the  line  above  the  hook,  and  you  have 
a  knot  which  cannot  come  loose,  is  neat,  not  lia- 


66  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

ble  to  cut,  and  can  be  taken  out  very  quickly  with 
the  end  of  a  small  sharp  bodkin,  or  its  equivalent, 
which  no  angler  should  ever  be  without.  Mr. 
Wells  says  truly  of  this  knot :  "  This  method  of 
attaching  the  flies  to  the  leader  has,  I  believe, 
many  advantages.  The  customary  loops  are  apt 
to  immesh  more  or  less  air  which,  when  sub- 
merged, shines  like  polished  silver,  while  all  dis- 
turbance of  the  water  caused  by  the  knot  I 
advocate  is  so  close  to  the  fly  as  to  be  readily 
attributed  to  the  motion  of  the  fly  itself.  Again, 
it  is  unnecessary  to  pass  the  fly  through  the  loop, 
and  the  injury  it  not  unfrequently  suffers  from 
this  cause  is  avoided." 

Casting  lines  should  not  be  exposed  to  the 
light  or  to  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun  except  when 
in  use,  nor  bent  at  anything  like  an  angle  unless 
thoroughly  soaked.  When  put  away  they  should 
be  wrapped  in  something  which  excludes  the 
light  (I  use  a  piece  of  chamois  skin),  and  im- 
mersed in  a  bowl  of  water  four  or  five  hours  be- 
fore being  used.  I  have  now  casting  lines  that  I 
bought  ten  years  since  which  have  been  carefully 
kept,  and  this  season  they  were  quite  as  good  as 
ever.  There  is  a  great  difference  in  the  durabil- 
ity of  casting  lines  which  are  apparently  identi- 


Tackle  67 

cal  in  size  and  quality.  I  once  had  one  of  several 
tied  for  me  by  Nicholas  Brown  of  the  Weir  Cot- 
tage, Gal  way,  Ireland,  which  I  used  for  an  entire 
season  and  took  on  it  thirty-eight  salmon.  The 
gut  was  not  extra  heavy,  but  very  hard  and  as 
stiff,  when  dry,  as  a  wire  of  the  same  size  would 
be.  It  is  still  apparently  fit  for  service,  but  I  am 
preserving  it  along  with  other  "  memorabilia  "  of 
my  angling  experiences.  Good  salmon  gut  should 
stand  a  strain  of  fourteen  to  eighteen  pounds 
before  breaking,  but  it  is  not  advisable  to  test  any 
the  angler  is  going  to  use  as  highly  as  that,  e.g. 
a  man  was  once  backed  to  eat  a  leg  of  mutton  at 
2  P.M.  At  12  M.  his  supporters  were  betting  on 
him  heavily ;  and  one  of  them,  being  asked  by  a 
friend  what  made  him  so  sure  of  victory,  replied, 
in  confidence,  that  his  man  could  not  lose,  as  they 
had  that  morning  tested  him  on  two  legs  of  mut- 
ton, which  he  had  finished  easily. 

Reels 

A  good  reel  is  of  the  first  importance  in  salmon 
fishing,  and  until  the  past  few  years  the  art  of 
making  one  had  practically  ceased  in  develop- 
ment for  half  a  century.  However,  of  late,  there 
has  been  very  great  improvement,  not  only  in  the 


68  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

materials  used,  but  in  the  manufacture  of  this 
implement,  and  the  adoption  of  the  tension  screw 
to  regulate  the  pull  required  to  take  off  the  line 
has  been  of  the  greatest  service  to  anglers.  The 
general  reduction  in  weight  is  hardly  less  useful, 
although  a  reel  may  be  too  light  for  the  rod  as 
well  as  too  heavy.  A  multiplying  reel,  or  one 
which  may  be  changed  from  a  click  to  a  multi- 
plier, is  not  thought  nearly  so  good  as  the  plain 
click  reel.  A  wide  spool  on  a  reel  is  objection- 
able on  account  of  the  tendency  of  the  line,  when 
reeling  in  rapidly,  to  become  unevenly  distributed 
on  the  spool,  when  the  coils  which  are  above  the 
general  level  are  apt  to  slip  down  and  cover  a 
part  of  the  line  more  lately  reeled  in,  fouling  it  so 
it  will  not  render.  With  a  narrower  barrel  to  the 
reel  this  risk  decreases,  but  still  exists  in  a  modi- 
fied form ;  and  one  should,  in  the  most  exciting 
period  of  taking  in  line,  try  to  so  guide  it  with 
the  thumb  of  the  left  hand  that  it  is  evenly 
wound  on  the  barrel  of  the  reel.  It  is  easier  to 
do  this  when  the  reel  is  on  top  of  the  rod  in  play- 
ing a  fish,  as  it  uniformly  is  in  this  country,  than 
when  it  is  kept  underneath,  both  in  casting  and 
when  a  fish  is  hooked,  as  is  generally  the  British 
custom.  To  my  mind,  the  advantages  of  our 


Tackle  69 

method  are:  first,  the  rest  to  the  rod  from  hav- 
ing the  strain  on  it  changed  by  turning  it  over 
from  the  position  in  which  it  is  used  when  cast- 
ing ;  second,  the  saving  to  the  line  by  the  decrease 
of  the  friction  against  the  rings  by  the  employment 
of  the  American  method ;  and  third,  having  the 
reel  in  much  plainer  sight  at  the  time  of  its  hard- 
est work.  Still,  the  majority  of  the  best  anglers 
in  the  world  keep  the  reel  always  underneath. 

Returning  to  the  width  of  the  reel,  a  very  nar- 
row one  is  not  so  good  as  one  of  from  i^  to  if 
inches'  width  of  barrel,  and  about  3^  to  4^  inches 
outside  diameter.  A  reel  of  these  dimensions 
will  hold  one  hundred  yards  of  fair-sized  line,  say 
No.  2  or  3,  and  more  than  that  if  the  lower  half  of 
the  line  is  of  linen.  By  the  tension  screw,  which  is 
on  the  side  of  the  reel  opposite  the  handle,  the  pull 
may  be  regulated,  but  should  always  be  kept  easy, 
as  a  hard-running  reel  will  not  only  wear  out  more 
quickly,  but  one  is  more  likely  to  lose  fish  with  it. 
It  is  noticeable  how  much  less  likelihood  there  is 
to  overrun  in  the  more  modern  reels  than  in  those 
of  former  days,  even  when  without  the  tension 
screw.  When  a  reel  clogs  from  heating  of  the 
interior  mechanism,  by  plunging  it  in  the  water 
it  may  frequently  work  all  right  again. 


yo  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

Hooks  and  Flies 

When  a  salmon  rises  and  takes  a  fly,  closing 
his  mouth  tightly  on  it  and  turning  to  the  bottom 
with  the  hook  sometimes  well  down  toward  the 
root  of  his  tongue,  he  is  pretty  certain  to  drive 
the  barb  of  it  far  enough  into  him  to  make  his 
capture  moderately  certain.  In  such  cases  a 
slight  difference  in  the  angle  of  the  penetrating 
line  is  not  important ;  but  there  are  many  in- 
stances where  the  fly  is  very  slightly  nipped  or 
touched  by  the  fish,  and  for  such,  the  hook  with 
the  most  acute  angle  of  penetration  will  fasten 
the  most  fish,  other  things  being  equal.  Mr. 
Cholmondeley  Pennell,  in  his  "  Modern  Practi- 
cal Angler,"  has  treated  the  subject  of  hooks  most 
ably  and  exhaustively,  and  any  one  interested  in 
the  subject  should  not  fail  to  read  what  he  has 
written.  The  treatise  on  "  Fish-hooks  "  in  Mr. 
Wells's  "  Fly  Rods  and  Fly  Tackle  "  is  also  enter- 
taining and  instructive.  Mr.  Cholmondeley  Pen- 
nell states  that  the  objects  to  be  aimed  at  in  a 
perfect  hook  are,  (i)  penetration,  (2)  holding 
power,  (3)  strength,  (4)  lightness  and  neatness, 
and  thinks  the  best  combination  of  these  virtues 
is  found  in  the  hook  called  the  Pennell.  I  should 


Tackle  7 1 

place,  along  with  the  Pennell,  the  O'Shaugh- 
nessey  and  the  Limerick.  Of  course,  if  a  man 
fastens  a  good  proportion  of  the  fish  which  rise  to 
him,  he  naturally  ascribes  it  to  his  own  skill  or  to 
the  hook  he  is  then  using,  being  liable  to  over- 
look the  fact  that  the  salmon  may  be  rising  with 
the  determination  to  take  the  fly;  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  a  hook  may  be  condemned  because  the  fish 
are  rising  at  it  more  in  sport  than  in  earnest,  and 
consequently  few  are  fastened. 

Hooks  are  known  by  sizes,  and  it  is  important 
for  the  angler  to  keep  these  in  mind  when  order- 
ing flies.  The  turn-down-eyed  hook  is  justly 
gaining  in  popularity,  and  I  think  it  safe  to  ven- 
ture the  prediction  that  ten  years  hence  the 
plain  shanked  hooks  for  fly  fishing,  especially  for 
salmon,  will  be  as  rare  as  hammer  shotguns  are 
now.  It  will  be  a  blow  to  fly  tiers,  as  the  gut  loop 
used  to  attach  the  casting  line  is  in  nineteen  times 
out  of  twenty  the  first  part  of  the  fly  to  give  way, 
and  once  broken  or  frayed,  the  fly  is  useless.  This 
is  entirely  obviated  by  the  use  of  the  eyed  hook, 
which  will  insure  a  double  or  treble  average  dura- 
bility to  the  fly,  a  most  important  item  to  the 
angler.  Besides  the  advantage  of  durability,  the 
eyed  hook  can  be  fastened  to  the  casting  line 


72  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

much  more  neatly  than  one  with  a  gut  loop.  Of 
course  the  loop  at  the  end  of  the  casting  line 
cannot  be  used  and  must  be  cut  off,  or  the  fly 
attached  first  to  a  "  tippet "  which  may  be  looped 
on  the  casting  line.  The  attachment  of  the  tip- 
pet, or  of  the  casting  line,  to  the  eyed  hook  (and 


that  with  the  eye  turning  down  is  the  best)  may 
be  made  by  the  figure  8  knot  shown  on  p.  65,  or 
as  by  the  cut  below  which  shows  the  jam  knot. 
This  is  recommended  by  Mr.  Cholmondeley  Pen- 
nell  especially  for  trout  and  grayling  flies,  but 
I  have  used  it  on  salmon  flies  with  good  results, 
though  I  prefer  the  figure  8  knot,  as  it  seems 
rather  more  secure.  When  the  gut  has  been 
passed  through  the  hook  eye  and  the  slip  knot 


has  been  made  on  the  gut  above,  it  should  be 
left  large  enough  to  pass  over  the  eye,  when  on 
gradually  tightening  the  central  link  the  "jam 
knot "  is  formed.  Of  course  it  is  necessary  in 
this,  as  in  all  other  attachments  of  the  fly  to  the 


Tackle 


73 


casting  line,  to  examine  the  point  of  union  fre- 
quently to  see  that  the  gut  is  not  frayed  and 
everything  is  right.  In  salmon  fishing  this  ex- 
amination as  to  all  parts  of  the  tackle  should 
be  frequent  and  searching,  that  one  may  know, 


D 


P 


r> 


•j    ,.)    C) 


before  it  is  too  late  to  apply  a  remedy,  that  it  is 
not  his  fault  if  the  fish  is  lost. 

The  sizes  of  hooks  vary  somewhat  in  different 
factories,  but  the  following  diagram  approximates 
the  average  sizes,  from  12  to  i°,  which  latter  is 
quite  as  large  as  any  one  is  likely  to  want  in  this 
country. 


74  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

Rods 

I  am  not  at  all  certain  that  either  the  rod  or 
the  fly  are  the  most  important  parts  of  the 
salmon  angler's  outfit,  so  far  as  the  perfection  or 
pattern  of  either  is  concerned.  Salmon  may  be 
taken  on  flies  of  almost  any  pattern,  size,  or 
roughness  or  neatness  of  manufacture,  and  a  rod 
may  suffice  for  successful  sport  and  at  the  same 
time  violate  nearly  every  one  of  the  formulae  used 
by  the  most  eminent  makers.  Still,  a  man  can 
fish  with  much  more  comfort  if  he  has  a  rod  well 
balanced,  and  adapted  to  his  strength  and  to  his 
manner  of  casting — always  supposing  he  has 
had  experience  enough  to  know  a  rod  that  suits 
him  when  he  has  it  in  his  hands.  If  he  has  not, 
he  should  leave  the  selection  to  some  more  ex- 
pert friend.  A  rod  for  use  from  the  bank  should 
be  longer  than  one  used  from  a  boat,  as  in  the 
latter  method  of  fishing  the  boat  or  canoe  can 
almost  always  be  placed  within  an  easy  cast  of 
the  spot  one  wishes  to  reach ;  whereas  it  is  fre- 
quently necessary  in  fishing  from  the  bank  to 
make  casts  beyond  the  scope  of  a  short  rod. 
However,  in  the  latter  method  of  fishing,  alto- 
gether the  more  attractive  and  sportsmanlike, 


HEAD   OF   LANDLOCK   SALMON    IN   SPAWNING   SEASON 


A   PACIFIC   SALMON   AFTER   SPAWNING 


ATLANTIC   SALMON    DURING   SPAWNING   SEASON 


Tackle  75 

the  British  idea  as  to  the  weight  and  length  of 
rods  has  changed  very  much  of  late ;  and  I  think 
few  would  now  recommend  a  rod  longer  than 
eighteen  feet  for  fishing  from  the  bank,  whereas 
twenty  years  ago  those  of  twenty  to  twenty-two 
and  twenty-four  feet  even  were  in  common  use. 
Certainly  such  heavy  engines  have  no  practical 
advantage  save  that  of  developing  the  muscles 
by  unnecessary  labor,  and  at  the  latter  half  of 
a  long  day,  toil  for  this  purpose  ceases  to  be  a 
pleasure.  Even  were  rods  of  equal  weight,  the 
shorter  would  be  the  easier  for  continuous  use. 
One  often  hears  a  person  say,  generally  of  a 
heavy,  unwieldy  rod,  "  What  a  rod  that  would 
be  to  kill  a  fish,"  oblivious  to  the  fact  that  one 
rod  is  just  as  good  as  another  in  its  killing 
powers,  provided  both  are  well  enough  made  not 
to  break  at  the  strain  required  to  hold  the 
salmon.  I  know  of  a  thirty-eight-pound  fish 
being  killed  on  a  five-ounce  trout  rod,  and  I 
landed  one  of  twenty-eight  pounds  on  a  rod 
not  much  heavier.  It  was  rather  tedious,  as  I 
was  afraid  to  put  the  strain  on  the  fish  that  an 
ordinary  salmon  rod  would  have  stood  easily. 

The  combination  in  a  rod  to  be  sought,  and 
not  easy  to  find,  is  one  of  strength,  lightness,  and 


j6  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

casting  power  that  is  adaptable  to  a  short  as  well 
as  to  a  long  line.  There  are  many  rods  which 
need  a  heavy  weight  of  line  to  work  well,  and  at 
any  distance  under  fifteen  to  twenty  yards  are 
too  stiff  for  good  work.  Others  are  so  limber 
and  withy  that  they  are  only  capable  of  doing 
well  at  short  ranges,  and  are  useless  for  anything 
like  a  long  cast.  A  properly  constructed  rod 
should  have  the  strength  equally  distributed 
from  butt  to  tip,  so  that  a  pull  at  the  latter  point 
will  cause  the  rod  to  bend  throughout  its  entire 
length.  If  the  spring  is  confined  to  one-half  the 
length,  owing  to  the  weakness  of  the  top  or  stiff- 
ness of  the  butt,  the  rod  is  defective,  as  in  cast- 
ing the  spring  should  be  easily  perceptible  to 
the  end  of  the  butt.  Top-heavy  rods  of  the 
Castle  Connell  pattern,  though  possessing  great 
power,  are  not  pleasant  to  fish  with,  owing  to  the 
great  proportionate  weight  of  the  top. 

Major  Traherne,  one  of  the  best  anglers  of  his 
day  and  the  author  of  "  Salmon  Fishing  with  the 
Fly,"  in  the  Badminton  Library,  and  "  The  Habits 
of  the  Salmon,"  two  most  interesting  and  instruc- 
tive treatises,  says :  "  I  have  tried  all  sorts  and 
sizes  of  rods  by  various  makers,  and  the  one  I  am 
now  using,  and  have  used  for  many  years,  is,  to 


Tackle  77 

my  mind,  perfection.  It  is  a  greenheart  in  three 
splices,  and  if  a  rod  is  to  be  judged  by  its  powers 
of  casting,  it  should  be  a  good  one.  It  is  the  one 
with  which  I  won  the  first  prize  at  the  Fishing 
Tournament  at  Hendon  in  July,  1884,  for  the 
longest  overhead  cast,  with  a  cast  of  forty-five 
yards  one  inch."  Major  Traherne  does  not  men- 
tion the  length  of  this  rod,  but  I  was  told  by  Far- 
low,  when  in  '86  or  '87  I  went  to  order  a  rod  of 
this  pattern,  that  Major  Traherne  was  then  using 
one  of  sixteen  feet.  That  length  being  nearer  in 
accordance  with  my  ideas,  I  had  one  of  that  size 
made,  which  I  still  own.  It  is  an  excellent  rod 
and  apparently  indestructible;  but  I  suppose  I 
shall  be  adverse  to  the  opinions  of  most  British 
anglers  when  I  say  that  I  prefer,  for  fishing  from 
a  canoe,  a  rod  of  the  earlier  make  of  Forrest  & 
Son  of  Kelso,  Scotland.  I  have  used  one  of 
these,  fifteen  feet  long,  for  twenty-five  seasons, 
and  killed  a  great  many  heavy  fish  with  it.  It 
has  been  varnished  a  few  times,  and  some  of  the 
whippings  about  the  joints  have  been  renewed; 
but  it  is  as  good  as  ever,  including  the  two  tips, 
neither  of  which  has  been  broken.  Forrest  rods 
are  used  more  than  any  others  in  this  country, 
but  I  fear  that  many  sent  over  in  late  years  are 


78  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

not  so  carefully  and  thoroughly  made  as  those  of 
earlier  dates.  In  balance  and  casting  power  up  to 
thirty  yards,  which  is  quite  as  far  as  any  one  needs 
to  throw,  and  generally  too  far  for  successful  fish- 
ing from  a  canoe,  as  salmon  are  neither  so  apt  to 
rise  to  a  very  long  cast  or  to  take  the  fly  if  they 
do,  I  think  a  good  fifteen-foot  Forrest  rod  equal 
to  any  I  have  seen.  The  American  split  bamboo 
rods  have  great  power  and  are  light  and  delight- 
ful implements  to  handle ;  but  many  of  them 
have  been  found  subject  to  a  kind  of  dry  rot 
near  the  joints,  which  develops  generally  after 
one  or  two  seasons'  use,  when  the  rod  will  some- 
times break  at  an  ordinary  cast  without  the  least 
previous  sign  of  weakness.  This  general  ten- 
dency, which  perhaps  might  be  prevented  by 
great  care  of  the  rods,  has  made  them  unpopular 
here,  and  in  spite  of  their  many  advantages  they 
are  not  much  used.  It  is  rather  strange  that 
trout  rods  made  of  the  same  material  and  by  the 
same  makers  are  as  durable  as  any  other  rods. 
As  between  jointed  and  spliced  rods,  it  is  hard 
to  decide,  though  probably  the  jointed  ones  would 
carry  the  preference.  I  believe,  however,  that  a 
spliced  rod  is  more  even  in  its  action  than  a 
jointed  one,  from  having  no  part  of  it,  as  ferrules, 


Tackle  79 

stiff  and  immovable.  For  the  same  reason  the 
jointed  rod  would  be  more  likely  to  break  at  the 
points  of  union  of  the  different  sections  than 
would  a  spliced  one.  Perhaps,  however,  in  actual 
work  the  convenience  in  putting  up  and  taking 
down  more  than  counterbalances  the  slight  ad- 
vantages I  have  named  in  the  spliced  rod. 

Flies 

"  Large  be  your  fly  too,  with  expanded  wings 
Of  various  hues,  at  this  he  boldly  springs." 

—  Williamson's  British  Angler,  1840. 

I  approach  the  subject  of  flies  with  the  cer- 
tainty that  no  opinions,  experiences,  or  views  on 
the  matter  can  be  advanced  which  will  not  run 
counter  to  those  of  many  masters.  I  have  never 
met  two  reasonable  anglers  who  would  not  differ 
radically  as  to  some  of  their  doctrines  regarding 
flies.  It  is  as  ticklish  a  minor  theme  to  venture 
the  expression  of  decided  opinions  upon,  or  to 
lay  down  hard  and  fast  rules  about,  as  one  could 
easily  find.  Were  it  possible  to  furnish  a  tyro 
with  a  dozen  different  patterns  of  flies  and  force 
him  to  fish  with  them  alternately  for  several  sea- 
sons on  a  good  salmon  river,  some  authentic 
information  might  be  gained  as  to  which  kinds 


8o  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

were  the  favorites  of  the  fish.  However,  as  it 
now  is  and  probably  always  will  be,  each  angler 
has  a  theory  or  many  theories  of  his  own.  If 
they  are  the  result  of  his  experience,  they  may  be 
generally  right,  —  for  the  waters  in  which  he  is 
accustomed  to  fish,  —  but  quite  inappropriate  for 
water  somewhere  else.  Again,  some  of  these 
theories  may  be  based  on  extraordinary  occur- 
rences, as,  on  a  certain  occasion,  when  nobody 
else  was  having  any  luck,  the  trial  of  a  fly  very 
much  larger  or  smaller,  brighter,  or  darker  than 
those  in  use  has  been  rewarded  by  the  capture 
of  several  fish,  which  the  angler  is  likely  to  assume 
would  only  have  risen  to  the  particular  strange 
fly  they  took.  He  can't  say  with  anything  like 
certainty  that  the  fish  would  not  have  taken 
something  else  just  as  well,  but  very  naturally 
ascribes  his  success  to  some  attractions  in  the 
particular  fly  he  has  used.  Almost  any  angler 
has  facts  enough  at  his  own  command  to  dis- 
prove nearly  all  statements  that  may  be  made 
by  others  as  to  the  virtues  of  special  flies. 

While  I  admit  that  I  suffer  with  others  from 
the  prevailing  delusions  on  this  subject,  and  that 
in  some  respects  I  feel  quite  strongly  in  favor 
of  my  own  opinion,  I  will  endeavor  to  explain 


Tackle  8 1 

my  ideas  with  the  full  belief  that  many  of  them 
can  be  successfully  controverted.  I  am  often 
inclined  to  think  that  the  simple  views  as  to  flies 
held  by  a  Micmac  Indian,  Jacques  Vicaire,  who 
fished  with  me  for  many  years  are  not  so  far  out 
of  the  way.  "  Wen  salmon  want  a  fly,  he  take 
any  fly  damn  quick.  Wen  he  don't  want  none, 
no  matter  how  many  you  show  him,  he  say  go  to 

h ." 

Perhaps  I  may  begin  by  saying  that,  as  a  gen- 
eral rule,  large  flies  are  better  in  high  water  and 
early  in  the  season,  and  small  ones  when  the 
water  is  low  and  clear.  I  have  seen  exceptions 
to  this  rule,  and  fish  taken  on  No.  3  and  4  flies 
in  early  high-water  fishing,  and  on  one  occasion 
when  we  were  using  in  July  Nos.  8's  and  ID'S  in 
the  very  low  clear  water,  I  took  four  good  fish 
one  afternoon  on  a  large  No.  2  toppy.  I  knew 
salmon  were  in  the  pool,  and  had  tried  them  in 
vain  with  various  small  flies  for  several  days. 
When  I  changed  to  the  toppy  they  took  it  at 
once.  I  would  not  therefore  recommend  a  big 
fly  of  this  kind  for  low,  clear  water,  though  a 
similar  experiment  might  succeed  when  salmon 
will  not  take  the  flies  appropriate  to  the  time 
and  place.  As  to  the  sizes  of  flies,  what  may  be 


82  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

large  on  some  rivers  would  be  considered  small 
on  others.  On  the  Shannon  in  Ireland  I  am 
informed  that  8°  flies  are  used  for  the  spring 
fishing.  I  took  three  fish  one  morning  on  the 
Restigouche  with  a  fly  I  should  think  as  large  as 
that,  which  was  given  me  by  an  English  friend. 
The  water  was  very  high  and  dark  after  a  heavy 
rain,  and  the  fish  came  for  the  enormous  bunch 
of  feathers  just  as  freely  as  they  did  to  the  No.  i 
Silver  Doctor  a  friend  was  using  in  the  pool 
above  me. 

I  am  quite  sure  that  salmon  will  apparently 
change  their  ideas  as  to  the  desirability  of  certain 
flies  from  year  to  year,  as  a  woman  changes  the 
pattern  of  her  bonnet  or  a  man  that  of  his  cigars 
or  neckties.  Many  years  ago  I  tied  a  rough  fly 
with  claret  body,  heavy  gold  tinsel,  yellow  tail, 
blue  hackle,  and  wild  turkey  wings.  With  this 
fly  I  was  more  successful  than  with  any  other  for 
several  seasons,  of  course  using  it  more,  but  all 
at  once  it  seemed  to  lose  its  attractiveness  and 
has  never  regained  it,  though  I  give  it  a  trial 
every  year.  Of  course,  if  a  man  puts  on  a  strange 
fly  and  gets  a  fish  with  it  in  short  order,  he  will 
go  on  using  it,  and  the  more  fish  it  takes  the 
stronger  belief  he  will  have  of  its  merits,  not  tak- 


Tackle  83 

ing  it  into  account  that  he  cannot  be  sure  some 
other  fly  would  not  do  quite  as  well.  Major 
Traherne  in  the  Badminton  Library  speaks  of 
this  change  of  mind  as  to  flies  in  the  salmon,  and 
mentions  one  violent  revolution  as  to  what  was 
wanted  on  the  River  Usk,  in  Monmouthshire, 
where  the  change  has  been  from  a  fly  with  a 
dirty  yellow  body,  blue  or  red  cock's  hackle,  and 
brown  wing,  to  what  is  called  the  "  Usk  grub,"  a 
wingless  fly  of  tinsel  chenille  and  coch-y-bon-dhu 
hackle  in  joints.  I  have  tried  this  fly  on  the 
Restigouche  often,  but  never  with  any  success, 
though  I  have  taken  fish  on  a  brown  hackle  trout 
fly,  and  on  a  bunch  of  fur  from  a  squirrel's  tail 
tied  on  the  shank  of  a  hook.  The  Beaufort 
Moth,  a  white-winged  fly  with  peacock-herl  body, 
much  like  the  Coachman,  I  have  used  with 
good  results  for  late  evening  fishing,  from  dusk 
until  pitch  dark  (the  best  time  for  the  long, 
smooth,  flowing  stretches),  until  last  season,  when, 
after  vainly  trying  the  white  fly  for  two  evenings, 
I  changed  to  a  "  Causapscal,"  an  all  yellow  fly  of 
the  same  size,  No.  i,  and  had  thereafter  fair  sport 
on  that  and  some  other  flies  quite  as  different 
from  the  white  one.  A  fish  may  not  be  in  the 
rising  humor  at  eight  o'clock,  but  at  one  minute 


84  The  Atlantic  Salnwn 

past  he  may  have  reached  the  point  where  his 
appetite,  or  whatever  it  is  which  induces  him  to 
rise,  impels  him  to  take  one  or  some  particular 
passing  fly.  There  is  an  instant  when  a  salmon 
changes  his  mind  from  a  state  of  apathetic  in- 
difference to  flies  in  general,  to  a  desire  to  seize 
any  fly  or  some  especial  one  that  may  be  pre- 
sented him.  I  have  known  of  several  instances 
in  support  of  this  statement.  A  friend  of  mine 
was  fishing  the  big  pool  at  Metapedia  before  the 
club  was  formed,  and  when  it  was  free  to  all  of 
the  guests  at  Dan  Frazer's  hotel.  Close  behind 
him  and  in  line  followed  two  canoes,  an  angler  in 
each,  and  all  three  were  using  the  same  fly,  a 
Jock  Scott.  My  friend  fished  down  to  the  bridge 
without  a  rise,  while  each  of  the  men  not  two 
minutes  behind  him  took  a  good  fish  from  the 
water  he  had  just  gone  over.  My  friend  had  un- 
doubtedly cast  over  these  salmon,  and  had  his 
followers  taken  them  so  soon  after  with  different 
flies,  he  would  naturally  have  concluded  it  was 
not  the  Jock  Scott  that  was  wanted.  This  in- 
cident proved,  and  I  have  others  in  my  mind 
nearly  as  conclusive,  that  a  salmon  may  become 
a  rising  fish  almost  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye, 
and  will,  so  soon  as  the  change  occurs,  rise  to  a 


Tackle  85 

fly  he  would  not  notice  a  moment  before.  I 
should,  as  the  result  of  my  own  practice  in 
salmon  angling,  place  the  size  of  the  fly  as  the 
most  important  element  in  its  selection,  as  I 
believe  that  very  often,  though  not  always,  it  is 
the  size  that  first  appeals  to  the  desires  of  the 
salmon  which,  up  to  a  certain  point,  it  is  our  aim 
to  consider.  Salmon  will  very  frequently  take 
freely  under  similar  conditions  flies  of  one  size 
but  of  very  different  colors,  but  not  often  flies 
of  greatly  varying  sizes.  Last  summer  I  took 
three  fish  from  one  pool,  each  hooking  himself  at 
the  first  rise  and  having  had  no  other  fly  over 
him,  on  a  Silver  Doctor,  a  Durham  Ranger,  and 
a  Brown  Fairy,  all  tied  on  No.  4  hooks.  I  tried 
the  experiment,  as  there  was  a  number  of  fresh- 
run  fish  in  the  pool,  and  I  wanted  to  give  the 
question  of  size  a  fair  trial  with  uniform  condi- 
tions, as  nearly  as  could  be  obtained. 

I  don't  consider,  however,  that  the  result  of 
this  experiment  makes  it  at  all  certain  that  there 
are  not  numerous  occasions  when  a  different 
attitude  on  the  part  of  the  salmon  might  be 
established.  Indeed,  I  shall  mention  here- 
aftei  a  notable  instance  or  two  wherein  color 
and  not  size  was  demanded. 


86  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

Next  to  size,  I  should  place  color  as  the  de- 
sirable attribute  in  salmon  flies,  and  by  color 
I  mean  the  general  effect  which  may  be  obtained 
by  using  materials  of  uniform  hues.  I  do  not 
believe  that  salmon  are  sensitive  to  slight  varia- 
tions in  color,  or  that  the  addition  of  a  minute 
feather  or  an  extra  twist  of  hackle,  put  in  by 
tackle-makers  to  increase  their  list  by  one  pattern, 
or  by  ambitious  anglers  in  order  that  their  names 
may  be  revered  by  the  present  and  future  genera- 
tions on  account  of  having  flies  called  by  them, 
matters  one  way  or  the  other. 

Sir  Herbert  Maxwell,  in  his  very  instructive 
book,  "  Salmon  and  Sea  Trout,"  gives  a  number 
of  examples  to  strengthen  the  theory  that  color 
has  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  fish,  either 
salmon  or  trout,  taking  the  fly,  and  that  these 
fish  are  practically  color-blind.  His  own  ex- 
periences were  with  trout,  which  he  found  would 
take  a  bright  blue  or  red  May  fly  quite  as  well 
as  one  of  the  natural  color  of  the  insect.  The 
May  fly  being  about  the  best  imitation  of  the 
real  thing  that  exists  in  any  artificial  flies,  this 
might  prove  that  the  trout  looked  first  for  the 
shape  and  size  of  the  fly  they  were  taking,  and 
perhaps  experiments  with  other  patterns  not  so 


Tackle  87 

closely  resembling  living  insects  might  be  more 
conclusive  if  they  gave  the  same  result.  Sir 
Herbert  quotes  an  anecdote  from  Thomas  Tod 
Stoddard  of  a  a  Scottish  laird  who  so  firmly 
believed  that  color  had  nothing  to  do  with  the 
taking  properties  of  flies  that  he  renounced  all 
color  in  his,  and  dressed  them  entirely  in  white, 
and,  thus  equipped,  took  as  many  fish  as  one  of 
the  "  ablest  craftsman "  in  the  district  whose 
notions  regarding  the  visual  perception  of  fish 
were  perfectly  different.  So  far  as  our  trout  go, 
I  can  say  with  confidence  they  are  not  color- 
blind, though  this  may  be  answered  by  the  state- 
ment, which  is  true,  that  they  are  not  trout  at 
all,  but  char.  Salmon  may  be  more  indifferent 
to  the  color  effect  of  flies  than  trout,  but  I  am 
very  reluctant  to  admit,  in  the  face  of  several  tests 
mentioned  in  this  volume  which  seem  to  me  con- 
clusive, that  this  indifference  comes  from  inability 
to  distinguish  between  a  dark  and  a  light  colored 
object  or  even  to  a  finer  perception  of  hues. 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  in  a  lot  of  flies  of  fifty 
varieties  twenty-five  would  be  so  nearly  alike 
that  a  layman  could  not,  without  careful  examina- 
tion, tell  the  difference  between  them,  and  that 
a  salmon  could  do  better  is  very  improbable.  No 


88  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

doubt  the  state  of  the  water  is  an  important 
factor  in  the  selection  of  the  colors  of  flies  to 
be  used  in  fishing  it,  and  the  appearance  of  a  fly 
is  influenced,  not  only  by  the  depth,  swiftness,  and 
darkness  of  the  water  in  which  it  is  used,  but 
also  by  the  condition  of  the  atmosphere  and  the 
various  backgrounds  of  sky  against  which  it  is 
seen  by  the  fish.  Major  Traherne  and  other  au- 
thorities unite  in  saying  that  in  a  deep  and  rapid 
stream  a  black  or  red  fly  will  be  more  likely  than 
any  other  to  attract  a  salmon's  attention.  The 
Jock  Scott,  though  a  brilliant  fly  when  seen  dry, 
has  a  very  different  and  more  modest  appearance 
when  viewed,  floating  on  the  water,  from  a  point 
below  the  surface. 

The  capriciousness  of  salmon,  one  of  their  few 
characteristics  of  which  we  are  absolutely  certain, 
makes  it  unsafe  to  lay  down  any  but  the  most 
general  propositions  as  to  what  colors  or  effects 
in  flies  are  to  be  used  under  varying  conditions. 
Perhaps  bright  or  dark  colors  in  strong  or  high 
or  dark  water,  e.g.  the  Durham  Ranger,  Popham, 
Silver  Doctor,  Jock  Scott,  or  Nicholson ;  for 
medium  and  clearing  water,  the  Butcher,  Jock 
Scott,  Silver  Doctor,  and  Fairies,  brown  and 
black;  for  low  water,  Brown  Fairy,  Jock  Scott, 


Tackle  89 

Silver  Doctor.  It  will  be  observed  that  the  Jock 
Scott,  Silver  Doctor,  and  Fairies  are  included  in 
the  flies  appropriate  for  all  stages  of  water  and 
varieties  of  weather,  and  although  I  have  never 
done  it  myself,  I  think  a  man  provided  with  an 
ample  stock  of  different  sizes  of  these  three  flies 
could  catch  as  many  fish  in  any  river  of  this 
country  as  if  he  had  the  entire  stock  of  any  fly 
tier  in  the  world  to  choose  from.  Still,  few 
anglers  have  enough  self-control  to  start  forth 
with  so  small  a  variety  of  flies,  and  the  universal 
practice  is  to  take  very  many  more  than  can 
possibly  be  needed,  which  uselessly  lumber  up  the 
fly  book,  and  ultimately  are  given  away,  lost,  or 
become  food  for  moths. 

In  addition  to  the  Jock  Scott,  Silver  Doctor, 
and  Fairy  flies,  the  Britannia  (which  is  bright  and 
very  handsome),  the  Nepisiguit  Gray  (which  is  tied 
with  rat's  fur  body,  light  silver  tinsel,  and  mallard 
wings,  and  which  I  have  found  excellent  wher- 
ever tried),  the  Durham  Ranger,  the  Nicholson,  or 
Blue  and  Brown  (claret  body,  gold  tinsel,  yellow 
tail,  blue  and  rich  brown  hackle  mixed,  with 
cocked-up  mallard  wings),  the  Butcher,  and  the 
Beaufort  Moth,  or  some  other  white  fly,  should 
certainly  furnish  enough  variety  for  the  most 


90  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

fastidious  angler  or  salmon.  It  cannot  be  denied, 
however,  that  there  are  occasions  when  salmon 
will  take  things  they  have  never  seen  before,  and 
which  are  as  different  from  any  of  the  creations 
of  the  fly  tier  as  can  be  imagined. 

I  took  two  on  the  Nepisiguit  with  a  bunch 
of  muskrat  fur  tied  to  a  bare  hook,  and,  as  I 
have  mentioned  before,  salmon  have  been  taken 
on  the  Restigouche  with  a  bunch  of  red  squirrel's 
fur  tied  in  the  same  way. 


CHAPTER  IV 

CASTING  AND  WORKING  THE  FLY 

"  Who  has  not  seen  the  Scarus  rise, 
Decoyed  and  caught  by  fraudful  flies  ?  " 

IT  will  be  long  ere  the  art  of  casting  for 
salmon  in  this  country  approximates  the  per- 
fection it  has  attained  many  years  since  in  the 
British  Isles.  The  rivers  are  so  much  larger 
here,  on  the  average,  that  most  of  the  fishing  is 
done  from  a  boat  or  canoe,  which  renders  unnec- 
essary the  employment  of  switching,  or  any  of  the 
various  underhand  casts  without  a  knowledge 
of  which  angling  would  be  practically  impos- 
sible in  many  of  the  best  rivers  of  Britain. 
The  time  will  doubtless  come  when  these  things 
will  be  studied  and  learned  here ;  but  now,  though 
we  have  anglers  equal  to  any  in  overhand  casting, 
I  should  not  know  where  to  look  for  one  posted, 
practically,  in  the  mysteries  of  any  of  the  other 
methods. 

The  overhand  or  ordinary  cast  is  made  by 
lifting  the  line  out  of  water  to  the  end  where 

91 


92  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

the  fly  is,  and  throwing  it  out  behind  to  its  full 
length  before  casting  it  forward.  This  is  the 
most  important  part  of  casting,  as,  if  not  done, 
and  there  is  a  slack  in  the  line  at  the  time  of 
the  forward  cast,  the  fly  is  frequently  snapped 
off,  and  line  and  fly  alight  in  front  in  a  tangled 
mass  far  in  direction  and  distance  from  where 
they  should.  In  raising  the  line  from  the  water, 
a  little  jerk  should  be  given  just  as  the  fly  leaves 
the  surface,  which  makes  it  travel  up  and  back 
much  faster  than  it  otherwise  would,  and  prevents 
the  line  from  hitting  the  ground  or  the  water  on 
the  back  cast.  It  is  desirable  that  the  straight- 
ened-out  line  behind  should  not  fall  to  a  lower 
level  than  that  of  the  angler's  head,  and  if  kept 
higher  than  that  it  is  better.  The  rod  on  the 
back  cast,  to  accomplish  this,  should  go  as  little 
as  may  be  beyond  the  perpendicular.  To  see  men 
casting  from  a  canoe,  and  not  only  a  good  bit 
of  the  line,  but  often  the  tip  of  the  rod,  striking 
the  water  behind,  is  far  from  a  pleasant  spectacle. 
The  higher  the  fly  on  the  back  cast,  if  straight, 
the  less  force  is  required  to  send  it  forward,  and 
the  knack  of  getting  it  into  this  position  or  any 
other  whereby  the  fly  is  straightened  out  on  the 
back  cast  is  in  applying  sufficient  sudden  force 


Casting  and  Working  the  Fly  93 

as  it  leaves  the  water,  where  there  is  some  resist- 
ance to  add  to  the  impetus  necessary  to  put  it 
where  it  is  wanted.  To  use  sufficient  power  in 
the  right  place,  to  get  the  fly  straight  out  behind, 
and  to  know  just  when  to  begin  the  forward 
motion,  the  principal  force  in  which  is  to  be 
exercised  at  the  first  part  of  it,  with  just  suffi- 
cient in  the  remainder  of  the  cast  to  guide  the 
fly  and  make  it  alight  properly,  can  only  be 
learned  by  practice ;  which,  after  a  long  enough 
time,  enables  one  to  cast  far  and  fine  without  any 
consciousness  of  the  methods  he  employs.  In 
casting  for  salmon  from  the  bank  or  from  a  boat, 
the  line  should  be  thrown  across  and  down- 
stream at  an  angle  of  say  fifty  to  sixty  degrees. 
If  thrown  straight  across,  the  fly  does  not  work 
so  well,  and  the  line  remains  longer  slack  than  if 
the  cast  is  made  more  down-stream.  Still,  I  have 
seen  fish  take  the  fly  an  instant  after  it  touched 
the  water  on  the  straight-across  cast,  though  such 
an  occurrence  is  very  unusual. 

When  the  fly  touches  the  water,  the  point  of 
the  rod  should  be  held  stationary  until  the  fly  has 
swung  around  one-third  or  a  half  of  its  course ; 
then  the  rod  should  be  made  to  follow  the  fly 
until  the  end  of  the  cast,  the  object  being  to 


94  Tbe  Atlantic  Salmon 

keep  the  line  from  bellying,  which  prevents  the 
fly  from  working  properly,  and  which  also 
renders  a  rising  fish  less  likely  to  hook  himself 
than  if  there  was  a  comparatively  straight  line 
between  the  end  of  the  rod  and  the  fly.  A  cast 
in  which  the  fly  reaches  the  water  with  a  slack 
line  should  be  at  once  tried  again,  as  in  such 
instances  a  belly  is  created  in  the  line,  the  fly 
goes  down-stream  headforemost  for  half  or  more 
of  the  cast,  and  water  passed  over  in  that  fashion 
is  practically  unfished.  It  should  always  be 
borne  in  mind  that  the  fish  should  see  the  fly 
before  he  sees  the  casting  line,  and,  of  course, 
the  clearer  and  shallower  the  water,  the  more 
desirable  this  is.  When  the  end  of  the  cast  is 
reached,  the  fly  should  remain  there  an  instant  or 
more,  as  salmon  will  sometimes  follow  it  without 
rising  until  it  stops,  or  come  at  it  from  the  other 
side.  One  of  the  best  anglers  I  know  considers 
the  end  of  the  cast  the  most  deadly,  and  says  he 
hooks  more  fish  by  working  the  fly  at  that  point 
and  gradually  letting  out  and  drawing  in  the  line, 
than  in  any  other  portion  of  the  cast.  Probably 
this  method  attracts  fish  from  a  greater  distance 
than  it  does  when  the  fly  passes  quickly  over.  At 
this  point  the  rod  and  line  are  in  the  most 


Casting  and  Working  the  Fly  95 

favorable  position  for  the  next  cast,  and  the  line 
for  that  purpose  may  be  lengthened  out  from  the 
reel  so  much  as  is  desired.  Three  or  four  feet 
additional  on  the  length  of  each  cast  is  not  too 
much  unless  in  very  heavy  or  dark  water,  when 
this  amount  of  new  line  can  be  reduced  accord- 
ing to  the  fancy  of  the  angler.  In  fishing  from 
a  boat  and  casting  alternately  to  each  side,  one 
should  learn  to  use  either  hand  uppermost  on 
the  rod  for  either  cast,  as  it  is  tiresome  and 
annoying  to  change  hands  every  time  the  fly  is 
thrown.  The  fly,  of  course,  is  thrown  by  a 
somewhat  different  motion  when  it  has  to  be 
cast  from  the  left  shoulder  with  the  right  hand 
uppermost  on  the  rod,  or  from  the  right  shoulder 
with  the  left  hand  above ;  but  a  little  practice  in 
this  enables  one  to  acquire  the  habit  and  to  add 
greatly  to  his  ease  and  comfort  in  fishing. 

In  fishing  from  a  bank  or  wading,  while  the 
above  general  directions  will  apply  in  many  cases, 
there  are  also  many  where  the  cast  has  to  be 
made  in  quite  a  different  way  in  order  to  cover 
all  the  water  within  reach.  Of  course,  if  there 
is  plenty  of  clear  space  behind,  the  ordinary 
overhand  cast  will  do ;  but  if,  as  is  frequently 
the  case,  the  angler  has  a  backing  up  of  trees  or 


96  Tbe  Atlantic  Salmon 

high  rocks,  some  other  method  of  getting  out  the 
line  must  be  adopted.  There  are  various  kinds 
of  these  underhand  casts,  as  they  are  called,  the 
general  principle  of  all  being  to  so  apply  the 
force  to  the  rod  that  the  fly,  instead  of  going 
above  and  behind  the  caster,  travels  low,  and  near 
the  surface  of  the  water  toward  the  centre  of  the 
stream,  and  then  by  a  sharp  forward  and  outward 
motion  the  fly  is  thrown  high  in  the  air,  and  as 
it  descends  straightens  out  and  alights  in  the 
chosen  spot,  never  in  the  course  of  its  travels 
going  behind  the  angler.  It  is  delightful  and 
astonishing  to  see  how  far  a  line  can  be  thrown 
by  underhand  casting,  and  any  angler  who  has 
seen  a  good  exhibition  of  this  art  will  be  fired 
with  a  desire  to  attain  a  practical  knowledge  of 
it  which  I  fear  cannot  be  taught  from  books. 
Major  Traherne  says  on  this  subject:  — 

"  Of  all  the  various  undercasts  the  one  as  practised  on  the 
Spey  is  the  most  pleasant  and  satisfactory  to  make,  and,  as  far 
as  I  can  judge,  a  longer  line  can  be  got  out  with  it  than  with 
any  other.  It  is  generally  believed  this  cast  can  only  be  ac- 
complished when  wading,  but  if  any  one  knows  how  to  do  it,  it 
can  be  done  with  quite  as  great  ease  and  to  as  great  perfection 
when  standing  on  the  bank ;  but  in  the  latter  case  it  requires  a 
sharp  stream  to  be  running  evenly  close  into  the  bank  which  is 
being  fished  from.  ...  To  make  a  Spey  cast  successfully  the 


Casting  and  Working  tbe  Fly          97 

line  should  be  allowed  to  be  carried  well  down  the  stream  straight 
and  tight  to  its  fullest  extent,  the  point  of  the  rod  following  the 
direction  of  the  fly  and  held  very  low.  Before  making  the  cast 
the  whole  line  should  be  lifted  clear  of  the  water ;  if  allowed  to 
drag  under  the  surface  the  cast  cannot  be  made.  The  Spey 
fishermen  who,  I  think,  are  the  finest  underhand  casters  in  the 
world,  use  rods  made  especially  for  the  purpose.  The  upper 
portion,  instead  of  being  straight  is  made  in  a  curve,  and,  when 
fishing  the  curve  faces  the  stream,  which  gives  the  rod  made  in 
this  fashion  a  greater  lifting  power  than  an  ordinary  one,  but  I 
have  found  I  could  make  as  good  a  cast  with  the  latter." 

The  proper  working  of  the  fly  as  it  goes  down 
and  across  stream  on  its  journey,  for  the  purpose 
of  producing  in  it  a  lifelike  movement  calculated  to 
impress  upon  the  salmon  in  the  neighborhood  the 
fatal  belief  that  it  is  no  sham,  is  a  vexed  question. 
The  popular  conviction  is  that  by  moving  the 
point  of  the  rod  up  and  down  constantly  when 
the  fly  is  in  the  water,  its  charms  are  enhanced. 
This  looks  very  attractive  when  it  can  be  seen,  on 
a  short  cast,  but  it  is  certain  that  on  a  medium  or 
long  cast  the  up  and  down  motion  of  the  rod  is 
not  communicated  to  the  fly  at  all,  and  on  the 
short  casts  the  action  keeps  the  fly  nearer  the  sur- 
face of  the  water  than  is  desirable  in  most  rivers, 
as  the  rule  is  to  hold  the  point  of  the  rod  low  that 
the  fly  may  sink  as  deep  as  possible.  I  am  obliged 

H 


98  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

to  admit  that  I  find  myself  a  good  part  of  the  time 
jerking  my  fly  in  fishing,  though  I  am  convinced 
that,  even  if  it  does  no  harm,  it  does  no  good.  It 
serves  to  while  away  the  time  and  gives  one  the 
idea  that  he  is  doing  something  to  help  along  his 
sport. 


CHAPTER   V 

FISHING  THE   POOL 

"That  pleasure  which  is  most  comely,  most  honest,  and 
giveth  the  most  libertie  to  Divine  meditation,  and  that  without 
all  question,  is  the  Art  of  Angling;  which  having  ever  been 
most  hurtlessly  necessary,  hath  beene  the  sport  or  recreation  of 
God's  Saints,  of  most  holy  Fathers,  and  of  many  worthy  and 
reverend  Devines,  both  dead  and  at  this  moment  breathing."  — 
"The  Pleasures  of  Princes,  or  Good  Men's  Recreations,"  1614. 

WE  will  now  suppose  that  the  angler  is  at  the 
riverside  full  of  hope  and  enthusiasm,  provided 
with  two  to  six  rods,  a  commensurate  equipment 
of  reels,  lines,  and  casts,  and  forty  to  fifty  different 
patterns  of  flies  (for  I  feel  sure  that  all  hints  and 
counsels  to  moderation  and  economy  in  outfit, 
even  when  supported  by  experience,  will  prevent 
no  one  who  can  afford  it  from  encumbering  him- 
self with  much  unnecessary  tackle). 

The  morning  is  fresh  and  balmy  with  the  first 
breath  of  northern  summer,  the  birds  are  carol- 
ling their  nuptial  hymns,  the  light  green  of  the 
tender  foliage  of  the  hardwood  trees  is  extended 
well  up  the  mountains,  where  it  merges  into  the 

99 


ioo  Tbe  Atlantic  Salmon 

darker  hues  of  the  spruce  and  hemlock  reaching 
to  the  summits,  sharply  defined  against  the  clear 
blue  sky.  The  river,  recovered  from  the  spring 
floods,  and  though  still  high,  is  falling,  and  flows 
along  its  course,  now  through  long  flats  with 
apparent  slowness,  now  subsiding  into  ripples  as 
the  stream  runs  over  a  greater  descent  or  a  rock- 
strewn  bottom,  now  into  crested  waves  which 
break  and  foam  as  they  encounter  some  huge 
boulder  around  which  they  swirl  and  eddy  in 
angry  haste,  breaking  into  gentle  ripples,  dancing 
in  the  sunlight  as  they  reach  the  pool  farther  on. 
Although  the  "  School  of  Recreation  "  tells  us 
that  "  salmon  bite  best  in  May,  June,  and  July  at 
three  o'clock  of  the  afternoon,"  and  our  early 
belief  was  that  daybreak  is  the  best  season  for 
their  capture,  we  take  a  leisurely  breakfast  at 
seven,  smoke  one  pipe,  and  sally  forth  to  the  water 
at  eight,  having  bestowed  much  thought  as  to  the 
size  and  pattern  of  the  fly  we  will  first  show  on 
the  pool  where  no  angler  has  cast  one  since  last 
year.  The  river  being  high  but  clear,  a  No.  i 
Jock  Scott  is  chosen,  though  a  friend  going  to 
another  pool  is  to  try  a  Silver  Doctor  of  one  size 
smaller.  The  apocryphal  person  through  whose 
coming  exploits  I  hope  to  convey  in  a  pleasing 


Fishing  the  Pool  101 

manner  what  may  be  useful  information  to  some, 
and  the  reverse  to  others,  is  of  course  a  skilful  and 
experienced  angler,  absolutely  free  from  prejudice, 
and  tolerant  of  dissentient  views.  He  is  pro- 
vided with  a  fifteen-foot  Forrest  rod  with  standing 
rings,  a  Farlow  tension  reel  holding  sixty  yards  of 
Olinea  line,  having  spliced  to  it  seventy-five  yards 
of  Cuttyhunk  thin  bass  line,  a  casting  line  tested 
to  seven  pounds,  a  book  filled  with  flies  of  all 
kinds  and  sizes,  from  the  veterans  with  honorable 
records  of  former  years,  and  still  fit  for  service,  the 
cripples  with  parts  of  their  dressing  gone,  or  loops 
frayed  and  unsafe,  all  of  which  should  have  been 
thrown  away  long  since,  the  dozens  of  flies  never 
used  and  probably  never  to  be  used,  as  one  or  two 
trials  of  their  kind  have  been  fruitless,  to  the  com- 
paratively small  number  of  pet  patterns  on  which 
he  pins  his  faith,  all  tied  on  turned-down-eyed 
hooks.  These  implements  are  put  in  the  canoe 
along  with  a  gaff  whipped  to  a  light  spruce  pole 
seven  or  eight  feet  long,  a  small,  round,  flat  tin  box 
in  which  repose,  between  two  pieces  of  wetted 
thick  flannel,  a  couple  of  fresh  casts,  and  a  sharp- 
pointed  bodkin,  one  of  the  most  useful  utensils  of 
the  angler  for  taking  out  knots  in  a  casting  line 
and  loosening  it  from  the  fly. 


io2  Tbe  Atlantic  Salmon 

With  this  equipment  he  in  his  bark  canoe  is 
poled  by  two  Indians  to  a  pool  a  mile  above  the 
camp,  which  begins  at  the  end  of  a  heavy  rapid, 
deepening  as  it  slackens  around  the  edge  of  a 
projecting  ledge  of  rock,  and  gradually  shoaling 
with  its  downward  flow  until  it  reaches  a  com- 
paratively smooth  and  level  bottom,  where  it 
glides  with  almost  glassy  smoothness,  but  with  a 
force  which  has  to  be  felt  to  be  realized.  The 
length  of  the  pool  proper  is  about  fifty  yards, 
though  it  extends  or  shortens  with  the  rise  and 
fall  of  the  river.  In  low  water  the  fish  lie  farther 
up  and  even  in  the  heavy  rapid,  while,  when  it  is 
high,  they  are  all  below  the  rock,  sometimes  scat- 
tered over  the  shallow  smooth  stretch.  On  this 
first  morning  of  the  season  our  angler,  with  the 
assenting  minds  of  his  Indians,  had  his  canoe 
anchored  just  opposite  the  rock  a  good  cast  out 
from  shore,  and  began  operations  with  his  Jock 
Scott,  in  the  hope  and  expectation  of  soon  seeing 
the  big  boiling  rise  and  feeling  the  "  tight  line  " 
he  had  so  anxiously  been  anticipating  since  the 
first  breezes  of  spring.  Fishing  with  care  and 
deliberation,  and  all  the  time  getting  on  better 
terms  with  the  rod,  he  came  to  the  end  of  his  cast, 
about  twenty-five  yards,  with  no  sign  of  a  rise. 


Fishing  the  Pool  103 

Comparatively  few  fish  are  killed  on  casts  of  over 
twenty-five  yards,  and  the  great  majority  on  con- 
siderably shorter  ones.  I  don't  think  salmon  are 
so  likely  to  rise  on  a  long  cast,  as  the  fly  is  mov- 
ing more  quickly,  and  there  is  apt  to  be  a  belly  in 
the  line  which  prevents  it  working  so  well,  and 
when  they  do  rise  they  are  liable  to  miss  or  be 
slightly  hooked. 

The  canoe  being  dropped  down-stream  six  or 
seven  yards,  fishing  was  resumed,  and  through 
this  and  the  next  drop  no  evidence  appeared  to 
justify  the  belief  that  a  salmon  was  in  the  neigh- 
borhood. However,  the  temptation  to  change  the 
fly  was  successfully  resisted,  and  at  the  fourth 
drop  the  labors  of  our  angler  were  rewarded  by 
a  noble  rise  of  a  big  fish  well  out  in  midstream, 
which  came  with  a  rush  and  splash,  showing  his 
broad  tail  as  he  descended  without  the  fly,  nor  did 
he  return  to  it  though  it  was  not  moved  for  a  few 
seconds.  A  man  once  went  salmon  fishing  for  the 
first  time,  and  after  half  an  hour's  work  had  a  tre- 
mendous rise.  The  fish  missed  the  fly,  where- 
upon the  angler  thanked  God  and  ordered  his 
Indians  to  put  him  ashore,  nor  could  he,  for  the 
rest  of  his  stay  on  the  river,  be  persuaded  to  run 
the  risk  of  repeating  the  experience,  lest  it  might 


104  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

result  in  hooking  the  fish.  Neither  could  our 
angler  resist  a  transient  feeling  of  relief,  as  his 
salmon  went  down  untouched,  that  the  conflict 
had  been  postponed.  However,  he  waited  five 
minutes  by  the  watch  before  casting  over  the  fish 
again,  though  this  length  of  delay  is  greater  than 
many  recommend,  some  saying  that  three,  others 
two,  and  still  others  that  half  a  minute  is  suffi- 
cient. Then,  beginning  two  or  three  yards  above 
the  fish,  he  cast  down  till  he  reached  a  spot  sev- 
eral yards  lower,  but  no  move.  The  Jock  Scott 
was  then  changed  for  another  a  size  smaller,  and 
that  in  its  turn  for  a  Silver  Doctor  No.  3.  When 
these  had  vainly  been  shown  the  salmon,  a  change 
was  made  to  a  No.  2  Durham  Ranger.  When 
this  passed  over  the  fish  there  was  a  slight  and 
languid  break,  but  that  was  all  to  be  got  out  of 
him,  though  three  other  flies,  and  finally  the 
original  Jock  Scott,  were  tried  before  the  canoe 
was  dropped  farther  down.  Fishing  was  resumed 
with  a  No.  2  Jock  Scott,  and  after  half  an  hour's 
work  another  rise  came,  this  time  on  a  long  cast, 
and  scarcely  visible,  followed  by  a  strong  pull  on 
the  line ;  and  as  the  rod  bent  a  steady  pull,  not  a 
hard  jerk,  was  given  by  the  angler,  the  watchful 
Indian  in  the  stern  hastily  pulled  up  the  anchor, 


Fishing  tbe  Pool  105 

the  reel  sung,  and  presently  far  out  on  the  river  a 
fish  of  good  size  leaped  high  in  the  air,  and  then 
started  on  his  course  down  and  across  stream,  the 
canoe  being  paddled  after  him  as  quickly  as  pos- 
sible until  it  got  opposite  and  then  ahead  of  him, 
where  it  remained  until  line  enough  could  be 
reeled  in  to  make  it  prudent  for  the  angler  to  go 
ashore.  Just  as  he  landed  the  fish  sought  the 
bottom,  ceased  running,  and  began  "  jigging,"  that 
is,  giving  hard,  short  jerks  against  the  line.  This 
is  said  by  some  to  indicate  that  a  fish  is  lightly 
hooked ;  but  be  that  as  it  may,  this  one  presently 
broke  his  hold,  and  the  angler  had  the  sickening 
feeling  which  comes  when  it  is  realized  that  the 
tie  which  held  the  man  and  the  salmon  is  severed, 
and  that  they  are  parted,  probably  forever. 

Returning  to  the  spot  where  the  fish  was 
hooked,  and  just  below  which  he  had  seen  a 
salmon  jump  while  absent,  the  angler  fished  care- 
fully down  past  the  end  of  the  pool  into  the  flat 
below  without  a  rise.  Then  he  went  back  to 
the  first  fish  that  had  come  up,  and  a  little  below 
him  hooked,  on  a  No.  2  Jock  Scott,  a  smaller 
salmon,  which  was  landed  after  a  play  of  about 
ten  minutes  and  weighed  nineteen  pounds.  Re- 
turning to  camp,  he  found  that  his  friend,  a  com- 


io6  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

parative  tyro,  who  had  been  fishing  below,  had, 
soon  after  beginning,  changed  his  fly  to  a  No.  4 
Silver  Doctor,  with  which  he  had  pricked  one 
fish,  broken  his  casting  line  on  another,  and  landed 
two  of  twenty-three  and  twenty-five  pounds.  The 
moral  of  this  tale  is  to  always  use  rather  smaller 
flies  than  you  think  the  water  requires. 

When  a  fish  rises  short,  it  is  a  good  plan  to 
change  the  fly  for  one  of  a  size  smaller  before 
casting  over  him  again.  I  think  a  fish  is  a  little 
more  likely  to  come  a  second  time  if  this  is  done. 
He  is  more  on  the  alert  than  before  he  saw  a  fly 
at  all,  and  would  naturally  be  apter  to  notice  a 
smaller  object. 

The  changing  of  flies  is  a  vexed  question  and 
one  of  the  many  unsolved  problems  regarding 
the  salmon.  It  may  be  the  prevailing  opinion 
among  salmon  at  certain  times  of  their  sojourn  in 
fresh  water,  that  a  particular  size  or  pattern  of 
fly  is  worth  seizing  while  they  regard  all  others 
with  silent  contempt.  Anglers  generally  assume 
the  existence  of  this  condition  on  inadequate 
grounds.  A  man,  for  instance,  fishes  halfway 
down  a  pool  with  a  Silver  Doctor  and  stirs  noth- 
ing. He  changes  to  a  Durham  Ranger,  forth- 
with hooks  a  fish,  and  thereafter  firmly  believes 


Fishing  the  Pool  107 

that  the  change  accounts  for  his  success.  He 
does  not  know  that  the  fish  would  not  have  taken 
his  Silver  Doctor  if  he  had  seen  it,  nor  that  there 
were  any  rising  fish  in  the  water  he  has  passed 
over.  A  pool  may  contain  a  dozen  salmon,  none 
of  which  will  rise  at  anything,  or  hold  but  a 
single  occupant,  and  he  ready  to  take  any  fly,  or 
a  particular  one.  A  hungry  fish,  like  a  hungry 
man,  will  eat  almost  anything.  If  his  stomach  is 
full  or  his  appetite  is  failing,  he  may  be  attracted 
by  unusual  tidbits,  and  may  even  change  his 
mind  about  one  of  them  when  he  has  looked  it 
over.  The  only  approximately  certain  way  of 
knowing  whether  a  fish  desires  a  fly  of  a  certain 
kind,  or  none,  is  to  fish  over  him  with  different 
varieties  of  those  he  doesn't  want  until  you  show 
him  the  one  he  does.  It  is  rare  in  my  experience 
that  a  fish  over  which  one  fly  has  been  cast  with- 
out result  will  rise  to  another  shown  him  very 
soon  after,  though  I  have  had  two  notable  in- 
stances to  the  contrary.  One  morning,  late  in 
June,  '82,  I  was  fishing  the  Mowat  pool  at  the 
upper  end  of  our  water  in  the  Restigouche,  where 
the  bottom  is  very  level  and  the  stream,  though 
running  swiftly,  is  as  smooth  as  glass.  The  water 
was  about  five  feet  deep  and  very  clear.  I  hooked 


io8  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

a  fish  soon  after  beginning,  on  a  Nepisiguit 
Gray,  and  when  I  landed  him  found  that  the 
hook,  a  Sproat,  had,  after  the  custom  of  its  kind, 
bent  considerably.  Pounding  it  back  into  shape 
with  a  stone,  I  returned  to  the  same  place  and 
directly  hooked  another  fish,  after  landing  which 
I  found  the  hook  had  straightened  again  so  much 
that  I  thought  it  unsafe  for  further  use.  On  look- 
ing over  my  book,  I  found  no  fly  of  the  same 
pattern,  and  so  tried  four  or  five  others,  but  no 
fish  would  rise  to  any  of  them.  Then,  bending 
the  hook  of  the  gray  fly  back  into  shape,  I  tried 
that  from  the  same  position,  and  at  the  first  cast 
hooked  a  salmon.  Him  I  landed,  but  the  temper 
of  the  hook,  through  frequent  bendings,  was  so 
nearly  gone  that,  though  salmon  would  rise  to 
it,  after  pricking  a  couple,  which  escaped  at  their 
first  run  by  straightening  the  hook,  I  took  off 
the  gray  fly,  and  tried  various  others  without 
avail ;  then,  putting  it  on  again,  I  rose  a  fish  to  it 
at  once  in  the  same  place  I  had  been  casting 
over.  All  this  was  done  in  so  confined  a  space 
that  there  could  not  be  the  least  doubt  of  the 
same  fish  being  cast  over  with  all  the  different 
flies  used,  and  that  the  only  one  to  which  they 
would  pay  any  attention  was  the  gray  one. 


Fishing  the  Pool  109 

Another  instance  occurred  on  a  piece  of  water 
we  call  the  Brook  Pool,  very  similar  in  character 
to  that  mentioned  above,  where  I  was  fishing  one 
side  and  a  friend  the  other.  I  had  on  a  No.  4 
Dun  Wing  fly,  with  which  I  hooked  a  fish  almost 
at  once.  My  friend,  who  was  very  near  me,  both 
of  us  casting  toward  the  centre  of  the  river,  where 
the  fish  were  lying,  tried  several  kinds  of  small 
flies  without  hooking  a  salmon,  though  he  had 
one  or  two  very  faint  rises.  He  would  not  take 
a  Dun  Wing  from  me  until  after  I  had  landed 
three  large  fish.  Then  he  came  over  and  bor- 
rowed one  which  the  salmon  began  taking  at 
once,  and  we  carried  home  eight  between  us. 
The  proof  was  not  quite  so  absolute  as  in  the 
case  first  mentioned,  but  still  convincing  as  to 
the  tastes  of  the  fish  that  morning.  The  theory 
held  by  some  that  salmon  are  able  to  distinguish 
more  than  the  general  effect,  color,  and  size  in 
flies,  or  that  they  can  tell  the  difference,  for  in- 
stance, between  a  Silver  Doctor  and  a  Dusty 
Miller,  is,  I  think,  untenable.  Although  it  proves 
nothing  as  regards  any  theory  of  colors,  it  may 
not  be  out  of  place  to  give  the  following  state- 
ment of  the  different  patterns  of  flies  on  which 
salmon  were  killed  on  water  I  fished  in  1896,  and 


no  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

the  numbers  of  fish  taken  by  each  fly.  Total 
number  taken,  353.  Of  these  — 

101  were  hooked  on  Silver  Doctor  and  Dusty  Miller. 
8 1  were  hooked  on  Jock  Scott. 
1 6  were  hooked  on  Black  Dose. 
1 8  were  hooked  on  Lady  of  Merton. 
14  were  hooked  on  Durham  Ranger. 
1 6  were  hooked  on  Black  Ferry. 
21  were  hooked  on  Brown  Ferry. 
86  were  hooked  on  a  dozen  other  varieties. 

It  is  quite  possible  we  would  have  killed  just  as 
many  fish  had  we  been  without  the  first  two  kinds 
of  flies.  Hardly  any  one  is  disposed  to  change  a 
fly  the  fish  are  taking,  in  order  that  the  future 
angler  may  be  benefited  by  the  experience  he 
thereby  gains ;  and  a  fly  which  has  become  stand- 
ard like  the  "Jock  Scott"  is  accepted  without 
question  as  one  proper  to  use  anywhere,  which  it 
doubtless  is.  Some  years  since,  on  the  Nepisi- 
guit,  I  was  told  that  the  only  flies  the  fish  would 
take  were  the  Nepisiguit  Gray  and  the  Nicholson, 
or  Blue  and  Brown  (both  previously  described). 
The  two  friends  with  me  used  these  flies  consist- 
ently, but  I  stuck  to  the  Jock  Scott  and  Silver 
Doctor  long  enough  to  prove  that  the  salmon  took 
them  quite  as  well.  Next  year  I  tried  the  Gray  fly 


Fishing  the  Pool  m 

on  the  Restigouche,  where  it  and  the  "  Lady  of 
Merton,"  very  nearly  the  same  thing,  have  been 
ever  since  found  excellent.  I  fished  the  Galway 
River  in  Ireland  one  April,  and  landed  the  first  fish 
of  the  season  taken  with  the  fly  on  one  I  tied  in 
Nicholas  Brown's  cottage,  and  from  his  materials, 
a  rough  and  simple  combination  of  claret  body, 
gold  tinsel,  brown  hackle,  and  wild  turkey  wings. 
It  was  so  radically  different  from  the  gaudy  flies 
in  general  use  on  the  Galway  that  Nicholas  ad- 
vised me  to  "  hould  to  the  shrimp,"  but  I  got  a 
twenty  pounder  with  it  on  the  "  resarve  "  inside  of 
half  an  hour.  A  salmon  is  quite  as  likely  as  a 
human  being  to  change  what  answers  to  his  mind, 
and  while  at  three  P.M.,  of  ten  fish  lying  in  a  pool, 
one  may  be  disposed  to  rise,  an  hour  later  the  ten- 
dency may  have  left  that  one  and  taken  possession 
of  part  or  all  of  his  fellows.  It  is  a  fact  that  usu- 
ally but  a  small  proportion  of  salmon  will  rise  at 
any  given  time,  and  they  may  come  up  freely  in 
one  pool,  whilst  at  another  an  hundred  yards  dis- 
tant, where  they  are  quite  as  plentiful,  nothing  will 
tempt  them.  Many  salmon  start  for  a  fly  floating 
near  the  surface,  and  abandon  the  chase  before  a 
break  indicates  their  presence.  I  have  often  seen 
fish  make  a  rush  for  a  fly,  stop  short,  and  go  back 


ii2  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

to  their  seats  without  the  angler  being  conscious 
that  he  has  attracted  them.  Probably  fish  doing 
so  will  not  rise  again  without  being  rested,  which 
of  course  cannot  be  done  in  default  of  informa- 
tion the  angler  is  not  likely  to  have. 

Once  I  saw  below  me,  from  the  high  Metapedia 
Railway  bridge,  seven  salmon  lying  almost  mo- 
tionless in  the  swift  clear  water.  A  friend  was 
fishing  above  in  the  pool,  and  I  told  him  to  come 
and  cast  over  them  that  I  might  observe  the  re- 
sult. None  of  them  stirred  the  first  time  the  fly 
passed,  but  one  started  for  it  on  the  second  or 
third  cast,  and  turned  when  within  a  foot  of  the 
surface.  Waiting  a  few  moments,  my  friend  be- 
gan again,  with  no  effect  on  the  fish.  The  fly  was 
changed,  and  as  soon  as  it  was  seen  another  fish 
darted  at  it  when  it  was  at  least  five  yards  one 
side  of  him,  turning  away  just  about  as  the  other 
did  without  breaking  water.  A  rest  was  given 
this  fish,  but  he  would  not  come  again ;  then  the 
fly  was  changed,  when  a  third  salmon  came  half- 
way to  the  top,  and  that  was  the  end  of  it. 

I  once  fished  the  same  place  from  the  upper 
end  of  one  of  the  high  piers  on  the  up-stream 
side  of  the  bridge.  There  I  saw  one  fish  start 
from  the  bottom  as  my  fly  passed  over  him,  and 


Fishing  the  Pool  113 

go  back  without  quite  reaching  it  or  moving  the 
surface  of  the  water.  A  rest  and  change  of  flies 
availed  nothing  with  this  fish,  but  after  a  time,  as 
the  fly  was  very  near  where  he  had  come  from,  I 
noticed  a  portly  form  emerging  from  the  obscure 
depths  farther  under  the  bridge.  He  came  on 
with  a  deliberate  dignity  fitting  to  his  bulk, 
opened  his  mouth  as  he  approached  the  fly,  slowly 
closed  his  jaws  on  it,  and  quietly  started  with  it 
back  toward  his  residence.  Though  I  gave  him 
a  good  pull  at  once,  he  continued  his  deliberate 
progress  until  out  of  sight,  a  couple  of  yards  per- 
haps, and  then  realizing  he  was  in  trouble,  quickly 
threw  off  his  air  of  leisurely  superiority.  A  long 
struggle  ensued,  during  which  I  succeeded  in  get- 
ting my  rod  with  a  somewhat  disabled  reel  under 
the  bridge  to  the  lower  side,  where  the  salmon 
had  gone.  He  was  lost  when  thoroughly  ex- 
hausted, by  the  idiotic  conduct  of  an  angler  in  a 
canoe,  to  whom  I  offered  the  fish  if  he  would  gaff 
him,  and  who  tried,  despite  my  entreaties,  to  haul 
him  up-stream  by  the  line,  until  the  weakened 
hold  gave  way,  and  fish  and  angler  went  safely 
down-stream,  leaving  me  securely  perched  on  the 
bridge,  lamenting  what  I  still  consider  the  great 
calamity  of  my  fishing  career. 


CHAPTER   VI 

STRIKING,  PLAYING,  AND  LANDING 

"  Not  gladder  Shobden's  wealthy  peer 
Views  his  fat  oxen  and  his  deer, 
Nor  peeress,  when  her  alms  she  gives, 
Nor  those  her  charity  relieves  — 
Nor  Gripus,  as  he  scans  his  store, 
And  counts  and  counts  it  o'er  and  o'er, 
Nor  Stella,  decked  in  nuptial  pride 
And  just  about  to  be  a  Bride  — 
Than  I  to  feel,  O  bliss  Divine  ! 
A  Salmon  floundering  on  my  line."  —  Old  Song. 

THE  advisability  of  striking  a  salmon  at  all  is 
largely  a  matter  of  the  water  in  which  he  is 
caught.  When  I  first  fished  for  salmon,  after  a 
long  apprenticeship  at  trout,  I  could  not  for  a 
couple  of  days  resist  the  impulse  to  strike  as  soon 
as  the  rise  came.  The  water  was  heavy,  as  were 
the  fish,  and  the  result  was  that  I  snapped  off 
three  or  four  flies  before  I  learned  to  command 
myself.  The  great  force  of  the  current,  added  to 
the  weight  and  motion  of  the  fish,  not  only  made 
the  salmon  certain  to  hook  themselves  without  any 

114 


Striking,  Playing,  and  Landing       115 

effort  of  mine,  but  caused  the  effect  of  striking, 
on  the  tackle,  to  be  about  the  same  as  if  it  had 
been  fastened  to  a  twenty-five-pound  iron  weight. 
Some  years  later  I  fished  the  Nepisiguit,  a 
much  smaller  and  shallower  river,  which,  in  many 
of  its  pools,  has  hardly  enough  current  to  keep 
the  fly  straightened  in  its  journey  down-stream, 
and  it  had  to  be  worked  very  much  as  in  fishing 
for  trout.  In  such  places  the  salmon  rose  to  the 
fly  on  the  surface,  and  if  they  were  not  struck  the 
instant  the  rise  came,  just  as  in  fishing  for  trout, 
the  greater  part  of  them  were  not  hooked,  as 
they  probably  quickly  discovered  the  deceit  and 
ejected  the  fly.  I  have  never  fished  any  other 
river  where  I  did  not  consider  striking  unneces- 
sary. When  a  salmon  takes  the  fly  and  goes 
down  with  it,  the  rod  should  be  held  steadily  in 
its  position,  and  the  weight  of  the  fish  is  sure  to 
force  the  barb  into  him  as  he  descends.  When 
it  is  certain,  from  the  strain,  that  the  salmon  is 
hooked,  a  steady  pull  during  the  instant  that 
generally  passes  before  he  begins  his  run  may  fix 
the  barb  in  his  jaw  as  firmly  as  the  first  few  yards 
of  the  impending  run  will  do.  Besides  the  danger 
to  tackle  from  striking  when  the  rise  is  seen, 
there  is  another  serious  one  of  snatching  the  fly 


n6  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

away  from  a  fish  that  has  not  yet  taken  it  but  is 
about  to  do  so.  Even  when  it  is  certain  a  salmon 
has  missed  a  fly,  he  will  frequently  turn  and  take 
it  if  it  is  left  where  it  was.  Some  advise  casting 
at  once  in  the  same  spot  before  the  salmon  has 
time  to  settle,  but  leaving  the  fly  is  better. 

While  most  would  say  that  the  rise  followed 
by  the  first  rush  of  a  salmon  after  the  instant  of 
suspense,  yields  the  supreme  delight  of  angling, 
the  ensuing  moments  of  contest,  full  of  anxiety  as 
they  are,  may  furnish  the  most  enduring  recollec- 
tions. One  of  the  maxims  of  salmon  angling 
is,  when  your  fish  is  hooked,  to  get  him  ashore 
as  soon  as  possible,  regarding  of  course  the  safety 
of  your  tackle.  If  a  salmon  is  lightly  hooked,  he 
will  escape  anyway,  and  it  is  better  for  him,  and 
for  the  angler,  that  he  should  do  so  soon  than 
after  a  half-hour  of  ladylike  dallying  with  him. 
After  a  salmon  is  hooked  it  is  wise  to  reverse 
the  rule  of  doing  all  you  can  to  please  him,  and 
instead,  to  assume  an  attitude  of  determined  op- 
position to  every  move  he  may  make.  Wherever 
it  is  possible  the  angler  should  try  to  get  below 
his  fish  as  soon  as  it  can  be  done  after  he  is 
hooked.  The  tendency  of  the  salmon  is  to  keep 
his  head  up-stream,  and  he  is  fighting  the  rod  and 


Striking,  Playing,  and  Landing        117 

the  current  together  if  the  angler  is  below  him, 
whereas  if  the  angler  is  above,  it  is  he  who  has  to 
overcome  the  force  of  the  stream  in  addition  to 
that  of  the  fish.  Of  course  it  may,  for  various 
causes,  often  be  impossible  for  the  angler  to  go 
down  with  a  fish  a  quarter  or  a  half  mile,  but 
where  it  can  be  done  it  will  be  found  to  materi- 
ally shorten  the  time  of  bringing  him  to  gaff, 
and  every  unnecessary  moment  spent  increases 
more  and  more  the  chances  of  loss.  The  neces- 
sity of  keeping  a  continuous  strain  on  a  salmon 
has  been  realized  by  every  angler.  This  fish  has 
the  power,  common  to  many  of  his  species,  of 
ejecting  forcibly  from  his  mouth  things  he  doesn't 
approve  of,  and  doubtless  can  do  so  with  a  fly 
unless  it  is  firmly  fixed,  when  the  line  is  slackened. 
I  have  seen  a  shrimp  bait  forced  several  inches 
up  a  link  of  gut  above  the  hook  by  salmon  in  the 
Galway,  and  have  no  doubt  the  same  methods 
are  adopted,  and  often  successfully,  with  flies. 
The  strain  on  the  fish  is  unavoidably  broken  in 
two  instances,  —  first,  when  he  turns  and  runs 
toward  the  angler.  All  the  latter  can  do  in  such 
a  case  is  to  run  back  himself,  if  he  can,  and  reel 
up  his  line  as  fast  as  possible.  Both  of  these 
means  only  suffice  to  shorten  the  danger  period. 


n8  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

Second,  when  the  salmon  jumps,  and  this  is 
almost  invariably  done  after  a  quick  turn  up- 
stream, which  leaves  a  belly  in  the  line,  and  the 
salmon,  in  jumping,  has  to  pull  all  this  through 
the  water  and  against  the  current,  making  it 
liable  to  part  in  any  weak  spot,  especially  when 
the  fish  leaves  the  water.  At  the  instant  he 
does  so  the  point  of  the  rod  should  be  lowered 
to  ease  the  additional  sudden  strain,  and  as  soon 
as  his  leap  is  over  the  rod  should  be  lifted  and 
the  strain  resumed.  Frequently  salmon  are  lost 
in  these  jumps  in  spite  of  the  angler,  as  he  may 
think  the  fish  is  running  down  and  across  stream, 
and  suddenly  sees  him  in  the  air  fifty  or  seventy- 
five  yards  above  where  he  thought  him  to  be. 
The  object,  then,  is  to  get  the  great  loop  out  of 
the  line  as  soon  as  possible  and  thus  relieve  it 
from  the  heavy  pressure  of  the  current.  This  is 
done  by  going  as  nearly  as  may  be  directly  below 
the  fish,  thus  straightening  out  the  dangerous 
loop  in  the  line.  In  cases  of  this  kind  a  thick, 
heavy  line  is  at  a  great  disadvantage  as  compared 
with  a  light  thin  one,  which  offers  so  much  less 
resistance  to  the  currents,  and  the  Cuttyhunk 
bass  line  spliced  to  the  other  will  often  result  in 
saving  a  fish,  nor  is  such  a  line  so  likely  to  sink 


Striking,  Playing,  and  Landing       119 

to  the  bottom,  where  it  may  become  entangled  or 
broken  among  sharp  rocks,  as  a  heavy  one.  The 
risk  of  letting  up  on  the  strain  is  often  made 
manifest  by  the  hook  dropping  out  of  the  mouth 
when  the  fish  is  gaffed  and  the  line  slackened. 
Unless  the  hook  is  deeply  embedded  in  the  tis- 
sues or  is  close  to  some  of  the  bones  of  the  head,  it 
is  apt  to  work  loose  in  the  course  of  a  protracted 
struggle,  which  often  brings  about  changes  in  its 
position  and  in  the  direction  of  the  pull  against 
it,  and  while  it  may  hold  if  kept  taut,  an  instant's 
let-up  will  enable  the  fish  to  eject  it.  It  should 
always  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  longer  the  fish 
remains  in  the  water  the  more  the  chances  of 
getting  him  out  of  it  are  lessening,  that  wherever 
practicable  as  heavy  a  strain  should  be  put  on 
him  as  is  regarded  safe  for  the  tackle,  and  that  it 
is  correct  to  assume  every  movement  of  the  fish 
to  be  hostile  to  the  interests  of  the  angler  and 
therefore  to  be  opposed  on  principle.  It  is  a  good 
idea,  when  it  can  be  done,  to  get  a  salmon  into  a 
still  pool  or  eddy  when  he  begins  to  show  signs 
of  relenting.  He  is  quite  likely  to  relax  his 
efforts  to  escape  when  coaxed  out  of  the  current, 
and  I  know  several  places  of  this  kind  in  different 
rivers  which,  when  reached  by  salmon,  hooked 


120  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

above,  they  hate  to  leave,  and  generally  remain 
there  until  gaffed.  When  a  salmon  is  sufficiently 
tired  out  to  be  gaffed,  the  gaffer  should  go  below 
him,  entering  the  water  far  enough  below  the  fish 
not  to  scare  him,  and  remain  there  in  a  stooping 
position  with  his  gaff  outstretched,  and  perfectly 
still,  until  the  fish  is  brought  inside  the  reach  of 
the  gaff  by  the  angler,  when  it  is  to  be  gently 
lowered  beyond  the  shoulder  of  the  fish  and 
quickly  pulled  inward.  Striking  at  the  fish  with 
the  gaff  is  not  to  be  permitted,  or  moving  toward 
him  as  he  is  coming  down-stream.  In  case  the 
fish  takes  alarm  or  is  evidently  not  coming  within 
reach  of  the  gaff  from  where  the  gaffer  is  stand- 
ing, he  should  come  out  of  the  water  and  enter  it 
again  farther  below,  and  never  attempt  to  gaff 
the  fish  until  he  is  sure  of  him,  for  a  salmon  fre- 
quently regains  a  good  share  of  his  pristine  vigor 
from  being  wounded  by  a  gaff  or  even  vainly 
struck  at  by  one.  He  will  much  more  readily  be 
brought  up  to  shore  where  the  water  is  of  moder- 
ate depth  than  where  it  is  very  shallow,  and,  as  I 
mentioned  above,  where  the  current  is  not  rapid. 
In  gaffing  from  a  boat,  it  should  be  below  the 
fish,  the  angler  facing  up-stream  and  well  back  in 
the  boat,  and  the  gaffer  ahead  of  him  in  the  bow. 


Striking,  Playing,  and  Landing       121 

So  soon  as  a  fish  is  brought  ashore  he  should  be 
despatched  by  a  knock  on  the  head  with  a  club  or, 
that  lacking,  a  stone,  the  fly  removed  from  the 
jaw,  flicked  in  the  water  two  or  three  times  to 
cleanse  it,  and  then  the  tackle  examined  and  line 
and  casting  line  tested  to  see  if  everything  'is 
sound  and  uninjured  by  the  recent  struggle.  This 
is  a  very  important  matter  to  be  attended  to,  and 
many  a  fish  is  lost  by  neglecting  it.  Salmon,  even 
of  large  size,  may  be  landed  by  dragging  them 
gently  up  on  a  shelving  beach  without  the  use  of 
a  gaff,  and  it  is  interesting  to  see  how  much  less 
force  is  required  to  effect  this  than  one  who  has 
not  seen  it  done  would  suppose.  The  stones,  as 
well  as  the  salmon,  are  slippery,  and  when  once 
started  the  fish  seems  to  help  himself  along  and 
to  slide  ashore.  The  most  successful  angler  I 
ever  knew  was  a  settler  on  the  Restigouche,  now 
departed,  named  Alford.  He  had  a  little  piece  of 
water  in  front  of  his  place  and  adjoining  some  in 
which  I  was  interested.  This  he  fished  very 
slowly  and  daily  from  a  canoe  alone,  going  over  it 
probably  six  or  eight  times  between  sunrise  and 
dark.  If  he  rose  a  fish,  he  would  keep  at  him  for 
hours,  and  in  the  end  generally  hooked  him.  I 
think  he  caught  more  salmon  than  any  man  on 


122  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

the  river  every  season,  in  his  own  water  and  that 
of  others,  who  did  not  always  know  when  he  was 
there.  When  Alford  hooked  a  salmon  he  would 
throw  overboard  a  buoy  attached  to  his  anchor, 
stand  up  in  his  canoe,  rod  in  one  hand,  and  in  the 
other  a  pole  with  which  he  pushed  the  canoe 
toward  shore  until  he  reached  shoal  water,  where 
he  stepped  out,  pulled  up  the  canoe  so  it  would 
not  drift  off,  and  began  attending  to  his  salmon, 
which  in  the  meantime  had  generally  taken  out  a 
lot  of  line.  Alford  always  beached  his  fish,  as  he 
never  had  any  one  with  him,  and  landed  very 
many  large  ones  in  this  manner,  one  which  I  saw 
weighed  being  forty-five  pounds. 

The  length  of  time  required  to  land  a  salmon 
depends  on  several  things,  and  not  always  on  his 
size,  as  salmon  vary  quite  as  much  as  men  or  other 
animals  in  power  and  endurance.  The  various 
works  on  salmon  angling  contain  accounts  of 
many  thrilling  encounters  with  enormous  salmon. 
One  of  these,  recounted  by  Couch,  in  "  Fishes  of 
the  British  Islands,"  as  having  taken  place  on  the 
river  Shannon  and  "  from  an  Irish  source,"  is  worth 
narrating.  The  man  who  hooked  the  fish  played 
him  for  five  hours,  during  which  he  was  worked 
three  miles  down-stream.  In  the  approaching 


Striking,  Playing,  and  Landing        123 

darkness  this  angler  became  faint  from  fatigue, 
and  a  companion  took  the  rod.  He  fared  little 
better,  though  he  kept  up  the  fight  for  eight  hours, 
finding  himself  at  the  end  of  that  time  seven  miles 
farther  down  the  river,  and  day  just  breaking  with 
the  fish  as  fresh  as  a  daisy.  The  news  having  by 
then  reached  a  gentleman  living  near,  he  hastily 
arose,  proceeded  to  the  field  of  action,  where  he 
gave  the  exhausted  angler  a  pound  bank-note  for 
the  rod  and  chance  of  success.  For  four  miles 
farther  and  nine  successive  hours  the  struggle 
lasted  with  the  third  combatant,  until  with  a  des- 
perate plunge  the  fish  broke  off  the  rod  close  to 
the  reel  and  proceeded  to  the  sea,  leaving  with 
his  last  adversary  only  the  reel  and  part  of  the 
butt.  The  time  occupied  was  twenty-two  hours, 
and  the  distance  travelled  down-stream  was  four- 
teen miles  —  the  book  says  "  almost  twenty  miles." 
The  fish  may  have  been  a  relative  of  the  one 
Nicholas  Brown  of  Galway  used  to  mention,  which 
was  hooked  late  one  afternoon  by  the  "  Portumna 
Man,"  who  played  him  for  three  hours,  when  he 
sent  home  for  his  supper,  which  he  ate  while  the 
fish  was  sulking,  then  worked  hard  at  him  till 
early  morning  and  took  advantage  of  another  sulk- 
ing time  to  write  an  account  of  the  conflict  for  the 


124  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

morning  paper.  After  this  literary  diversion  he 
stirred  up  the  salmon  again,  and  succeeded  in 
landing  him  at  breakfast  time  —  weight  fourteen 
pounds. 

The  largest  salmon  I  have  ever  known  to  be 
taken  with  a  fly,  was  killed  by  Mr.  Dun  on  the 
Cascapedia  some  years  since,  and  weighed  fifty- 
four  pounds.  A  farmer  on  the  Restigouche, 
Sandy  Macdonald,  told  me  he  took  one  in  a  drift 
net  on  that  river  early  in  the  eighties,  weighing 
sixty-five  pounds,  which  is  perhaps  heavier  than 
any  of  those  which  I  and  other  anglers  have 
played  and  lost.  Both  of  these  were  male  fish,  — 
"  kippers  "  they  are  called  in  Britain,  —  though 
according  to  Badham  in  "  Prose  Halieutics,"  p. 
313,  "  a  kipper  is  a  salmon  previously  well  scoured 
and  cleaned  that  has  received  several  dry  rubbings 
of  pepper  and  salt,  and  afterward  been  dried 
either  in  the  sun  or  else  in  the  smoke  of  peat  and 
juniper  berries." 

If  a  salmon  of  twenty  pounds  or  above  had 
intelligence  equal  to  his  strength,  he  could  not 
be  held  for  two  minutes  by  any  tackle  in  ordi- 
nary use.  Most  anglers  have  had  the  opportu- 
nity of  realizing  their  own  powerlessness  against 
such  a  fish  in  case,  as  two  have  done  with  me, 


Striking,  Playing,  and  Landing        125 

he  starts  straight  down-stream  for  the  sea  until 
he  has  emptied  the  reel,  when  something  has  to 
go,  or  if  he  takes  a  big  run  down  and  then  comes 
up  suddenly  and  jumps,  when  the  strain  on  the 
belly  of  the  line  is  almost  sure  to  be  fatal.  I 
have  often  heard  that  a  salmon  hooked  pretty 
well  down  in  the  tongue  will  not  make  a  long 
fight,  probably  from  his  mouth  being  kept  open 
more  than  if  the  hook  is  fast  in  the  outer  bone  of 
the  jaw.  Foul-hooked  salmon  are  always  very 
stubborn  unless  hooked  in  the  tail,  when  they 
tire  after  a  few  rushes,  as  the  pull  against  their 
principal  means  of  propulsion  is  very  trying.  A 
salmon  hooked  outside,  under  the  chin  or  any- 
where about  the  head,  if  big  and  strong,  may 
keep  the  angler  occupied  for  hours.  A  friend 
of  mine  landed  a  twenty-five  pounder  in  the 
Jupiter  River  on  Anticosti  Island,  hooked  out- 
side the  jaw,  which  resisted  his  best  endeavors 
for  five  hours ;  and  I  once  had  an  exciting  strug- 
gle with  one  for  two  hours,  half  the  time  it  being 
pitch  dark,  which  took  me  nearly  two  miles  down- 
stream and  kept  me  very  busy  until  he  was 
gaffed.  I  suspected  he  was  foul  hooked,  as  he 
turned  out  to  be,  under  the  pectoral  fin,  but 
nevertheless  would  have  firmly  believed,  had  I 


126  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

lost  him,  that  he  weighed  at  least  forty-five 
pounds.  He  did  weigh  thirty-two  pounds,  and 
was  a  male  fish,  of  which  sex,  on  all  rivers  I  have 
ever  fished,  I  have  taken  but  a  small  proportion, 
and  those  have  averaged  far  superior  in  fighting 
powers  to  the  females.  Altogether  the  strongest 
and  most  determined  salmon  I  have  ever  taken 
were  two  males  of  thirty-four  and  twenty-eight 
pounds,  the  latter  being  the  better  one,  and  each 
taking  an  hour  to  kill.  When  I  had  the  big  one 
pretty  tired  I  succeeded  in  getting  him  into  a 
deepish  pool  near  the  shore,  where  I  could  plainly 
see  him  from  the  bank,  and  several  times  I 
noticed  him  almost  perpendicular  in  the  water 
amongst  the  stones  on  the  bottom,  trying  to  rub 
out  the  hook. 

Sir  Herbert  Maxwell  in  "  Salmon  and  Sea 
Trout "  says :  "  In  perfectly  clear  water  it  may 
be  seen  that  a  sulking  fish  assumes  an  almost 
vertical  position  with  his  head  down,"  and  that 
"  to  move  him  from  this  posture  of  resistance  and 
cause  him  to  move  about,  an  attempt  should  be 
made  to  get  a  side  pull  at  him."  I  am  not  sure 
that  this  "  vertical  position "  is  always  assumed 
by  sulking  salmon. 

The    two    largest   salmon    I    ever   saw   taken, 


Striking,  Playing,  and  Landing        127 

forty-one  and  thirty-nine  pounds,  were  landed  in 
twenty  and  eight  minutes  respectively,  and  the 
latter  one  never  ran  out  twenty  yards  of  line.  I 
should  say  that  fifteen  to  twenty  minutes  was 
plenty  of  time  to  land  salmon  averaging  twenty 
pounds,  fairly  hooked,  and  it  must  be  an  extraor- 
dinarily strong  and  stubborn  fish  that  cannot  be 
brought  to  gaff  in  half  an  hour.  There  are 
many  anglers  who  take  delight  in  protracting  the 
struggle  as  long  as  they  can,  and  will  hold  down 
their  rods  when  a  fish  is  hardly  able  to  move,  in 
order  to  encourage  him  to  try  to  make  one  more 
run,  like  a  cat  with  a  moribund  mouse,  and  this 
they  call  sport.  Fortunately  such  anglers  gener- 
ally loose  a  good  proportion  of  the  salmon  they 
hook. 

Here  I  wish  to  quote  from  a  letter  written  me 
by  Andrew  Williamson,  a  well-known  Scottish 
sportsman  and  author,  equally  skilful  with  rod 
and  rifle,  and  who  has  killed  salmon,  and  many  of 
them,  in  both  hemispheres :  — 

"Why  do  salmon  in  Canada  and  Norway  give  so  much 
finer  sport  than  those  in  Scotland?  So  much  so  that  for  my 
part  I  would  rather  kill  one  there  than  five  in  my  own  country? 
In  the  latter,  the  heavier  the  fish  the  more  sluggish  he  is.  In 
the  former  I  have  found  it  just  the  reverse.  In  the  Annan,  on 


128  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

my  return  from  Canada  I  killed  three  fish,  thirty,  twenty-four, 
and  eighteen  pounds,  not  one  of  which  went  twenty  yards,  or 
once  showed  himself.  As  for  any  sport  they  gave,  I  would  as 
soon  have  been  fast  to  a  log.  The  Dee  and  the  Spey  fish  play 
better.  I  had  once  great  sport  with  a  thirty  pounder  on  the 
Dee  hooked  in  the  back  fin,  but  the  Tweed  fish  rarely  show 
any  sport.  I  have  heard  it  said  that  our  fish  are  dull  because 
they  come  up  in  the  Autumn,  but  on  the  Ligne  in  Ross-shire 
they  run  in  May.  In  that  river  I  killed  several  large  fish,  one 
of  them  thirty-eight  pounds,  which  I  saw  enter  the  pool  nearest 
to  the  sea  but  a  few  minutes  before  I  hooked  him.  He  fought 
but  little  and  I  had  him  out  in  twenty  minutes.  My  keeper  on 
the  Dee,  the  year  before  he  entered  my  service,  landed  on  the 
fishing  below  mine  a  fresh-run  salmon  of  fifty-seven  pounds  in 
fifteen  minutes.  It  was  all  so  easy  he  described  it  as  '  quite 
frivolous  like.'  My  belief  is  that  the  explanation  is  to  be  found 
in  the  exhilarating  character  of  the  Canadian  and  Norwegian 
climates  which,  unlike  ours,  are  not  subject  to  sudden  atmos- 
pheric changes,  to  which  fish  and  animals  are  so  keenly  alive, 
and  that  the  best  of  our  fishing  is  had  after  the  nets  are  taken 
off  in  September,  when  the  salmon  are  in  more  or  less  a  gravid 
state." 

This  is  a  question  on  which  it  would  be  inter- 
esting to  have  the  opinions  of  a  number  of  an- 
glers who  have  fished  here  and  in  Britain.  My 
own  experience  has  been  small  on  the  other  side 
and  confined  to  the  Galway,  where  I  had  excel- 
lent sport  the  first  half  of  April,  twenty  years 
since,  and  lately  to  two  small  rivers,  the  Kerry 


Striking,  Playing,  and  Landing        129 

and  Badachro,  on  a  shooting  in  Ross-shire,  Scot- 
land. In  Gal  way  it  did  not  strike  me  that  there 
was  any  difference  in  the  play  of  the  fish  from 
those  in  Canada;  but  the  three  small  salmon  I 
took  in  the  rivers  of  Ross,  the  biggest  being  only 
seven  and  a  half  pounds,  were  as  sluggish  brutes 
as  I  ever  saw,  all  making  for  the  bank  at  my  feet 
as  soon  as  hooked  and  burrowing  there  until  they 
were  gaffed.  Their  conduct  was  so  disgraceful 
that  I  could  hardly  believe  the  first  one  was  a 
salmon,  and  a  sea  trout  of  two  pounds  I  took  in 
the  Badachro  gave  more  sport  than  the  three 
of  them  together. 


CHAPTER  VII 

HOURS  FOR  ANGLING,  AND  MISCELLANEOUS  ADVICE 
AND  EXPERIENCES 

"  Who  woll  vse  the  game  of  anglynge  must  and  ryse  erly." 

—  JVLYANS  BARNS,  "Boke  of  St.  Albans,"  1486. 

IT  is  perhaps  unkind  as  well  as  ungrateful  to 
the  reverend  and  illustrious  mother  of  angling  to 
attempt  to  controvert  such  an  unqualified  state- 
ment as  the  one  of  hers  which  heads  this  chapter. 
Her  views  on  the  subject  of  early  rising  for  an- 
glers prevailed  for  centuries,  though  a  few  auda- 
cious writers  ventured  to  differ  from  her;  but 
their  influence  on  public  thought  was  trifling,  and 
for  centuries  the  majority  of  anglers  groaned  be- 
neath the  yoke  of  this,  as  well  as  other,  mediaeval 
nostrums.  H.  R.,  in  "  The  School  of  Recreation," 
1684,  says,  "  Salmon  bite  best  in  May,  June,  and 
July,  at  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon."  This  was 
a  feeble,  disconnected,  and  rather  vague  statement. 
Thomas  Fairfax,  in  "  The  Complete  Sportsman," 
about  1 760,  tells  us  "  His  [the  salmon's]  best  bit- 
ing time  is  at  nine  in  the  forenoon  and  three  in 

13° 


Hours  for  Angling  131 

the  afternoon  in  clear  water."  Both  of  these 
were  preceded  by  the  "  Innocent  Epicure,"  1697, 
which  recommends  a  different  hour,  but  still  not 
an  early  one,  as  follows  :  — 

"  At  Midday  when  the  Sun  exerts  his  Rays 
See  on  the  Surface  how  the  Wanton  Plays. 
Then  wisely  tempt  him  &  from  Force  or  Choice 
You'll  see  him  nimbly  to  your  Pastime  Rise. 
Strong  be  your  Lines,  your  Hooks,  your  Rods  &  all, 
And  wise  your  Conduct,  or  he  breaks  the  whole." 

With  the  general  growth  of  intelligence  there  has 
been  a  gradual  change  in  public  sentiment  as  to 
salmon  fishing,  as  well  as  in  other  respects,  and 
the  modern  tendency  is  perhaps  to  disregard  any 
fashions  in  morals,  manners,  and  sport  simply  be- 
cause they  are  old.  Many,  who  are  not  young, 
cannot  agree  with  these  prevailing  ideas  of  the 
day,  but  cling  more  or  less  fondly  to  ancient 
superstitions.  These  unenlightened  persons  have, 
by  their  pernicious  example  and  advice,  convinced 
certain  of  the  younger  generation,  though  not 
many  of  these  have  the  time  or  money  to  go 
salmon  fishing,  that  about  daybreak  is  the  most 
auspicious  time  to  begin  operations.  Wherefore 
many  an  ambitious  tyro,  possessed  with  this  her- 
esy, still  sallies  forth,  with  some  of  his  elders, 


132  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

through  the  dripping  grass  and  penetrating  fogs 
of  the  early  June  morning,  often  finding  his  pool 
covered  with  mist,  and  passing  a  comfortless  and 
luckless  season,  until  it  is  time  for  the  fish  to  rise, 
when  he  returns  to  his  breakfast  with  nothing  to 
repay  him  for  his  sufferings  except  the  conscious- 
ness of  having  performed  a  repulsive  duty. 

During  the  years  I  was  addicted  to  this  prac- 
tice I  never  had  but  one  really  good  early  morn- 
ing's sport,  and  that  was  on  the  first  of  July  at 
a  pool  in  the  Metapedia.  Old  Joe  Bernard,  who 
was  my  head  Indian,  waked  me  at  daybreak  and 
refuted  my  arguments  in  favor  of  further  re- 
pose by  repeating,  "  Beautiful  mornin'  fer  de 
salmon,"  until  I  yielded  and  went  to  the  canoe. 
The  weather  was  warm,  clear,  and  bright  when 
the  sun  rose,  and  in  two  hours  I  came  in  to 
breakfast  with  four  salmon  averaging  twenty- 
five  pounds  each.  For  years  afterward  the 
memory  of  this  exploit  cost  me  many  a  broken 
night's  rest  and  many  a  shivering  barren  morn- 
ing. When  the  water  is  low  and  the  weather 
hot  late  in  the  season,  early  morning  may  be 
better  than  after  the  sun  gets  high,  but  at  all 
other  times  I  think  eight  o'clock  is  quite  early 
enough  to  begin.  The  two  best  days'  fishing 


Hours  for  Angling  133 

I  have  ever  had  I  took  all  the  fish,  eight  each  day, 
between  twelve  and  two  P.M.  Both  were  bright, 
warm  days,  and  the  water  was  at  a  moderate 
pitch  and  clear.  Major  Traherne,  in  the  Bad- 
minton Library,  says,  "  The  time  of  day  when 
I  have  found  salmon  take  best  is  between  the 
hours  of  nine  A.M.  and  one  P.M.,  and  from  four  to 
dusk  in  the  evening." 

In  the  first  of  the  season,  when  the  water 
is  cold  and  high,  any  time  of  day  except  the 
early  morning  is  good,  and  the  brighter  and 
warmer  the  better ;  but,  take  it  all  around,  I  would 
rather  have  from  four  P.M.  until  dark  than  all  the 
rest  of  the  day;  and  from  early  in  July  there  are 
some  excellent,  smooth,  but  good  flowing  pools 
that,  without  a  good  breeze,  could  not  be  fished 
successfully  until  the  beginning  of  twilight,  from 
then  till  dark  being  the  best.  The  fish  in 
these  places,  which  earlier  will  occasionally  make 
a  languid  rise  to  a  No.  6  or  8  or  smaller  dark 
fly,  as  the  obscurity  grows  in  the  evening  will 
come  vigorously  at  big  flies  i°  and  2°  or  larger, 
the  sight  of  which  would  make  them  flee  from 
their  resting-places  in  the  daytime. 

It  is  impossible  to  lay  down  anything  more 
than  a  very  general  rule  as  to  the  best  days  or 


134  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

times  to  fish.  Salmon  will  frequently  refuse  to 
rise  or  suddenly  cease  rising  when  "  all  in  nature 
pleases,"  or  reverse  the  processes  at  times  when 
man  is  not  "  vile  "  and  the  conditions  are  appar- 
ently most  unfavorable.  Therefore  the  angler 
who,  undiscouraged,  hopeful  and  careful,  has  his 
fly  the  most  hours  on  the  water,  is  sure  to  rise 
the  most  fish. 

For  years  I  credited  the  current  belief  where 
I  fished  that  salmon  would  not  rise  when  it  thun- 
dered. One  day  I  was  caught  in  a  sudden 
shower  and  thoroughly  drenched,  but,  having 
seen  two  fish  jump  below  me,  I  decided  to  give 
them  a  trial,  the  result  being  that  notwithstand- 
ing the  storm  continued  in  a  most  violent  fash- 
ion, with  heavy  thunder  at  short  intervals,  for  two 
hours,  I  hooked  five  fish,  of  which  I  landed  three. 

Another  archaic  belief  which  has  been  greatly 
weakened  is  that  salmon  will  never  take  when 
there  is  mist  on  the  water.  Two  years  since 
a  friend  of  mine  came  down  the  river  from 
where  he  had  some  water  fifteen  miles  above, 
and  said  that  he  had  killed  five  fish  the  preced- 
ing afternoon  in  a  heavy  mist  so  thick  he  could 
not  see  his  fly  ten  yards  from  the  canoe.  We 
had  the  same  mist  where  I  was  fishing,  and  when 


Hours  for  Angling  135 

it  began  I  went  to  camp.  Very  shortly  there- 
after I  heard  of  two  instances  of  capital  sport, 
one  in  Canada,  and  one  on  the  Dee  in  Scotland, 
in  dense  fogs.  So  there  is  hardly  one,  if  any, 
rule  in  salmon  fishing  without  exceptions.  Mr. 
Samuel  Wilmot  of  Ottawa,  a  veteran  and  suc- 
cessful angler,  held  the  belief  that  salmon  slept 
during  the  heat  of  the  day  and  that  their  normal 
periods  of  activity  were  mornings  and  evenings. 
To  prove  this  he  had  several  salmon  confined 
in  a  pool  he  made  near  the  mouth  of  Indian 
House  Brook  on  the  Restigouche,  and  said 
that  at  midday,  especially  in  warm  weather,  they 
were  almost  torpid,  and  had  to  be  disturbed  a 
great  deal  to  rouse  them  to  any  kind  of  activity. 
This  view  of  Mr.  Wilmot's  has  lately  been  con- 
firmed in  a  letter  to  me  from  Mr.  Andrew 
Williamson,  and  I  think  what  he  says  is  inter- 
esting enough  to  be  given  here :  — 

"  Do  salmon  sleep  ?  I  am  convinced  they  do  and  that  this 
often  accounts  for  their  not  taking.  One  calm,  cloudless  day 
on  the  Grimersta,  the  last  of  the  season,  I  fished,  without  get- 
ting a  rise,  the  tail  of  the  second  loch  where  just  as  the  waters 
enter  the  river  there  is  a  hole  which  usually  holds  a  good  lot 
of  fish.  I  told  my  gillie  to  row  me  to  the  other  side,  a  dis- 
tance of  about  thirty  yards.  As  he  did  so  my  black  pointer 
swam  after  us,  and  was  carried  by  the  stream  right  over  the  place 


136  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

where  the  fish  lay.  No  use,  apparently,  in  trying  that  pool ! 
I  had  scarcely  spoken  when  a  fish  rose,  and  I  instantly  threw 
over  him.  He  came  at  once,  and  in  less  than  an  hour  I 
killed  five,  all  hooked  within  a  yard  or  two  of  the  very  place 
through  which  the  pointer  had  been  carried.  Apparently  he 
had  roused  them  from  their  siesta. 

"  A  Mr.  S.  who  had  some  water  on  the  Dee  was  convinced 
that  his  neighbor,  Mr.  B.,  habitually  sent  his  keeper  to  fish 
the  only  one  or  two  good  pools  he  had  opposite.  Arriving  one 
morning  at  one  of  these,  under  a  bridge  he  found  Mr.  B.'s 
keeper,  as  usual,  hard  at  work,  but  who  had  then  seen  noth- 
ing. S.  in  a  rage  threw  several  large  stones  into  the  pool, 
and  his  feelings  may  be  imagined  when  he  shortly  thereafter 
saw  the  keeper  land  two  large  salmon.  A  friend  of  mine 
was  once  fishing  a  small  Aberdeenshire  River  on  a  bright,  sultry 
day  with  no  result,  when  he  was  accosted  by  a  pearl  fisher  with 
the  remark,  'You  will  no  get  a  fish  the  day  if  ye  dinna  let 
me  wade  through  that  pool;  the  salmon  are  a"  fast  asleep.' 
My  friend,  for  the  fun  of  the  thing,  consented,  and  shortly 
thereafter  landed  three  fish." 

Rising  salmon  will  not  always  take  a  fly 
coming  directly  over  them,  as  there  are  certain 
resting-places  from  which  salmon  are  in  the 
habit  of  going  several  yards  for  the  fly,  and  if 
it  is  not  presented  at  that  place  they  will  dis- 
regard it.  A  very  notable  instance  of  this  is 
at  the  Flat  Rock  Pool  at  Pabineau  Falls  on  the 
Nepisiguit.  The  fish  lie  in  numbers  in  a  deep 


Hours  for  Angling  137 

pool,  just  above  which  is  a  very  swift,  glassy,  and 
shallow  rapid  flowing  into  it  over  smooth  rock. 
The  salmon  will  not  rise  in  the  deep  water 
where  they  stay;  but  the  fly  has  to  be  cast  at 
the  top  of  the  rapid,  down  which  it  goes  so 
swiftly  that  it  seems  impossible  a  salmon  could 
get  it,  but  it  is  taken  by  the  fish  coming  up 
from  the  pool  and  always  before  it  reaches 
there.  Another  place  I  know  where  a. gradually 
shelving  rock  goes  down  into  the  river.  The 
fish  lie  six  or  eight  yards  from  the  shore,  but 
take  the  fly  close  by  the  rock  and  will  not  rise 
elsewhere.  I  recollect  once  hooking  a  big  fish 
very  near  the  rock  in  low  water.  I  saw  him 
coming  for  some  distance,  and  as  he  drew  near 
the  fly  he  turned  on  his  side  before  seizing  it. 
I  had  seen  this  done  before  when  I  had  hap- 
pened to  be  over  fish  in  clear,  shallow  water, 
and  incorrectly  assumed  that  this  turning  was 
habitual  with  salmon,  as  I  have  since  had  the 
chance  of  seeing  them  take  a  fly  as  one  nat- 
urally supposes  they  would.  Salmon  often  lie 
on  the  comparatively  smooth  beds  of  river  flats, 
where  there  is  no  shelter  in  the  way  of  big  rocks 
or  bars.  In  such  places,  and  indeed  in  others 
with  rougher  bottoms,  the  fish  are  liable  to 


138  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

change  their  seats  from  time  to  time.  In  a 
deepish  pool  containing  big  rocks  or  ledges, 
one  familiar  with  it  can  tell  pretty  nearly  just 
where  the  fish  are  to  be  found,  and  there  are 
many  such  wherein  one  boulder  on  the  bottom 
is  sure  to  have  a  salmon  behind  it  if  any  is 
in  the  pool.  To  such  favorite  retreats  fish  at 
once  return  if  they  have  risen  at  a  fly  and 
missed  it.  But  in  the  cases  of  fish  rising  in 
the  pools  where  the  bottom  is  smooth,  they 
may  come  from  quite  a  distance  at  the  fly, 
follow  it  for  several  yards  before  showing,  and 
then  not  return  to  the  places  where  they  were 
lying  when  they  saw  the  fly.  In  a  pool  of  this 
kind,  when  fished  from  a  canoe,  in  dropping 
down  a  fish  may  be  disturbed,  and  go  down- 
stream or  to  one  side.  As  things  grow  quiet 
this  fish  is  likely  to  work  back  to  his  first 
resting-place,  and  it  is  not  at  all  a  rare  thing  to 
see  salmon  return  to  positions  quite  near  the 
canoe  after  it  has  been  motionless  for  some 
time.  These  fish  may  not  have  been  cast  over 
at  all,  or  if  so  when  they  were  alarmed  and 
moving  about,  and  I  think  it  is  from  such  that 
the  greatest  number  of  those  come  which  follow 
and  rise  at  the  fly  as  it  is  being  reeled  in  when 


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Hours  for  Angling  139 

the  cast  is  finished.  Why  these  fish  so  seldom 
take  the  fly,  though  they  sometimes  do,  it  is 
hard  to  tell,  unless  they  become  alarmed  as  they 
approach  it  by  reason  of  its  unusual  and  more 
violent  motion  and  its  nearness  to  the  surface. 
Indeed,  most  of  these  rises  are  made  near  the 
canoe  when  the  fly  is  on  the  surface  and  moving 
rather  rapidly.  As  they  are  generally  unexpected 
by  the  angler,  he  cannot  quickly  enough  stop  the 
motion  of  the  fly.  The  rare  cases  in  which  I 
have  hooked  fish  thus  rising  have  been  those  in 
which  I  had  enough  presence  of  mind  to  stop 
reeling  at  the  first  sign  of  a  rise,  and  even  let 
out  a  yard  or  so  of  line  in  order  to  sink  the  fly  a 
little  and  allow  it  to  drop  down-stream.  By  so 
doing  I  have  induced  a  salmon  to  make  another 
dash  at  the  fly  and  get  it.  Salmon  rising  in  this 
way  and  missing  can  very  seldom  be  made  to 
come  again  after  resting  them. 

When  a  salmon  rises  at  a  fly  and  misses  it  in 
a  pool  with  a  level  bottom,  it  is  impossible  to 
know  just  where  he  started  from  or  where  he 
will  settle  after  he  goes  down.  Consequently  the 
angler,  after  resting  him,  should  begin  fishing  with 
the  same  fly,  or  one  a  size  smaller,  and  this  latter 
is  advisable  in  case  the  rise  was  not  a  strong  one, 


140  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

at  a  point  somewhat  above  that  of  the  rise,  and 
continue  six  or  eight  casts  below.  The  salmon 
is  more  likely  to  be  below  the  place  where  he 
showed  than  above  and  farther  to  the  right  or 
left,  but  nothing  certain  can  be  known  as  to  his 
whereabouts.  After  a  salmon  has  once  risen  and 
refused  to  come  again  to  the  same  fly  or  to  one 
a  little  smaller,  it  is  considered  best  by  many 
high  authorities  to  leave  him  to  his  own  devices 
for  half  an  hour  or  longer  before  trying  him 
again.  My  best  results  have  been  obtained  by 
sticking  to  the  fish  until  he  stops  rising  at  any- 
thing, and  frequently  he  may  come  at  a  fly  after 
he  has  been  indifferent  to  the  three  or  four  pre- 
ceding ones.  Sometimes  a  fish  will  come  to  a 
fly  presented  to  him  from  a  different  direction 
to  the  one  he  has  refused.  I  once  rose  a  fish 
three  times  from  a  canoe  within  casting  distance 
of  the  shore,  and  after  that  cast  over  him  inef- 
fectively for  twenty  minutes.  Then  I  went 
ashore,  and  as  soon  as  the  fly  reached  him  com- 
ing from  the  other  way  he  took  it.  After  a 
salmon  has  risen  two  or  three  times  without 
hooking  to  the  flies  in  common  use,  his  normal 
tendencies  are  abandoned,  and  he  is  just  as  likely 
to  come  to  a  fly  that  would  inspire  him  with 


Hours  for  Angling  141 

terror  were  it  the  first  one  offered  him,  as  to  any 
other.  He  may  have  risen  to  a  No.  8  Fairy, 
and  after  declining  intermediate  sizes  and  col- 
ors, come  with  a  rush  at  a  No.  i  Britannia  or 
something  else  equally  as  large  and  brilliant.  I 
have  risen  salmon  as  often  as  eight  or  nine 
times  and  at  last  hooked  them.  As  an  instance 
of  the  freaks  in  which  they  indulge  I  give  this 
experience  of  a  friend.  He  rose  a  salmon  which 
missed  the  fly,  rested  him  for  five  minutes,  then 
cast  over  him  when  he  again  rose  and  missed, 
and  as  the  fly  went  on  three  or  four  yards  below 
another  fish  rose  at  it  and  missed.  A  rest  of 
about  three  minutes,  and  then  as  the  fly  came 
midway  between  the  places  of  these  two  rises 
both  fishes  rose  simultaneously  and  missed.  Mr. 
L.,  after  three  minutes  more,  rose  fish  No.  2 
again,  then  waited  the  same  length  of  time,  and 
cast  over  the  spot  (the  fifth  time),  when  again 
both  fish  arose.  A  minute's  rest  and  another 
cast  brought  up  fish  No.  2,  then  after  an  interval 
of  half  a  minute  the  fly  started  down  again, 
and  was  taken  by  fish  No.  I,  which  broke  loose 
after  being  on  for  ten  minutes.  Then  Mr.  L. 
returned  to  the  same  place,  and  on  the  second 
cast  hooked  and  killed  fish  No.  2,  weighing 


142  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

twenty-five  and  a  half  pounds.  The  first  rise 
of  all  was  on  a  Butcher.  After  the  third  rise  the 
fly  was  changed  to  a  Silver  Gray,  after  the  fifth 
back  to  the  original  Butcher. 

Fish  which  are  pricked  will  not  generally  rise 
for  some  time  after,  but  this  rule  also  has  excep- 
tions. I  once  hooked  a  salmon  which  escaped 
by  the  loop  of  the  fly  coming  away,  and  while 
fishing  down  the  same  pool  half  an  hour  after,  I 
saw  a  fish  jump  about  where  I  hooked  this  one. 
Returning  to  the  spot,  a  salmon  took  the  fly,  and 
on  landing  him  I  found  my  Silver  Doctor,  minus 
its  loop,  firmly  stuck  in  his  jaw. 

I  have  amongst  my  angling  memorabilia  three 
flies  found  in  the  mouth  of  salmon  I  have  killed. 
Two  of  these  are  attached  to  casting  lines  about 
six  feet  long,  and  one  has,  besides  a  three-yard  cast, 
half  that  length  of  line  to  which  it  is  fastened. 

It  seems  strange  that  a  salmon  should  be 
inclined  to  rise  after  having  been  gaffed  the  day 
before,  as  I  have  mentioned,  or  even  with  a  hook 
in  his  jaw,  and  trailing  ten  or  fifteen  feet  of  line 
after  him.  Fish  wounded  by  the  nets  through 
which  they  have  lately  passed  are  known  to  be 
more  likely  to  take  the  fly  than  their  unscathed 
companions,  and  the  same  is  true  of  those  which 


Hours  for  Angling  143 

have  been  bitten,  and  sometimes  badly,  by  their 
marine  enemies.  My  Scottish  correspondent,  be- 
fore quoted,  tells  of  an  old  Kelt  which  had  become 
imprisoned  by  the  falling  of  the  water  in  a  small 
but  deep  pool :  "  Over  this  fish,  for  lack  of  other 
sport,  some  members  of  our  party  amused  them- 
selves by  throwing  a  fly,  and  though  he  was  landed 
as  often  as  three  or  four  times  a  day,  he  was  quite 
ready  to  seize  it  as  frequently  as  offered.  In 
the  Grimersta  River,  of  which  I  have  spoken,  the 
worm  was  such  a  deadly  bait  that  some  of  the 
anglers  agreed  not  to  use  it,  and  a  gentleman 
once  fishing  there  landed  with  this  bait  in  one 
hour  and  a  half  seven  fish,  the  worm  being 
greedily  seized  the  instant  it  was  in  the  water. 
While  some  of  the  fish  were  fresh-run,  others  by 
their  dark  appearance  showed  they  had  been  away 
from  the  sea  for  some  time."  I  do  not  know  any 
instances  in  this  country  of  salmon  being  taken 
with  bait  nor  even  of  it  having  been  tried,  though 
I  have  no  doubt  its  use  would  prove  successful. 

An  English  gentleman  killed  quite  a  number 
of  salmon  some  years  since  at  Chain  of  Rocks  on 
the  Restigouche,  with  a  small  brass  spoon,  which 
he  gave  when  he  left  to  one  of  his  Indians,  who 
showed  it  to  me. 


144  Tbe  Atlantic  Salmon 

The  best  stages  of  water  for  fishing  are  just 
after  a  rise  begins  and  after  a  rise,  when  the 
water  is  at  the  turn  and  commences  falling. 
When  a  river  is  growing  in  flood  or  when  it 
is  low  and  falling,  salmon  are  generally,  though 
not  always,  indisposed  to  rise.  It  has  been 
said  that  there  is  one  hour  or  more  out  of  every 
twenty-four  when  any  salmon  in  any  pool  will 
take  a  fly,  which  at  the  least  it  would  be  hard  to 
disprove.  When  salmon  have  been  for  some 
time  settled  in  a  pool,  often  fished  over  and  per- 
haps pricked,  they  learn  to  associate  the  sight  of 
a  man,  a  canoe,  or  even  a  rod  and  fly,  with 
danger.  I  have  seen  three  or  four  salmon,  in  low, 
clear  water,  drop  down-stream  and  out  of  sight 
when  a  fly  floated  over  them,  and  in  the  same 
spot  presumably  the  same  fish  would  take  a  fly 
at  dusk  when  the  line  was  not  so  clearly  visi- 
ble. A  rise  of  water  will  send  many  of  these 
fish  up-stream  to  new  scenes,  where  they  are 
much  less  shy  and  have  to  learn  anew  the  lesson 
of  caution,  as  do  their  relatives  from  below  who 
come  up  to  take  their  places.  It  is  certain  that  fish 
are  much  more  likely  to  rise  for  a  short  time  after 
they  reach  a  pool  than  when  they  have  been 
there  for  several  days.  On  their  arrival  from  the 


Hours  for  Angling  145 

sea,  where  they  have  remained  for  periods  vary- 
ing from  six  months  to  perhaps  three  years,  they 
are  comparatively  unsuspicious  of  novel  dangers, 
and  do  not  curb  their  rising  tendencies  nearly  so 
much  as  after  a  sojourn  in  fresh  water.  In  the 
majority  of  rivers  on  this  side,  contrary  to  the 
general  rule  in  Britain,  the  first  run  of  fish  is 
composed  of  large  females  which  go  directly 
through  to  the  upper  waters  very  soon  after  the 
ice  leaves,  generally  by  the  middle  of  May,  don't 
stop  in  the  lower  pools  at  all,  and  will  very  rarely 
take  the  fly  until  they  are  well  up  the  rivers. 
This  run  is  followed  ten  days  or  three  weeks 
later  by  another  of  rather  smaller  fish,  with  a  con- 
siderable proportion  of  big  ones,  which  make  a 
more  leisurely  progress,  and  take  the  fly  at  favor- 
able times  and  places.  The  succeeding  runs  are 
made  up  almost  entirely  of  smaller  fish,  presum- 
ably the  grilse  of  the  year  before. 

In  many  of  the  Canadian  rivers  the  best  sea- 
son for  angling  is  coincident  with  that  of  log 
driving,  and  the  disposition  of  the  salmon  to  rise 
is  not  at  all  diminished  by  the  river  being  well 
covered  with  floating  logs.  They  will  take  a  fly 
close  beside  a  log  going  down  the  rapid  current 
quite  as  freely  as  if  the  river  were  clear;  and 


146  The  Atlantic  Salmon 

while  many  so  hooked  break  the  tackle  by  run- 
ning under  the  logs,  it  is  surprising  how  large  a 
proportion  is  landed  in  spite  of  the  great  risk. 
The  best  course  to  follow  is  for  the  angler,  if 
fishing  from  a  canoe,  to  get  ashore,  if  he  can,  and 
keep  the  canoe  above  the  fish  to  turn  aside  such 
logs  as  threaten  to  come  near  the  line. 

I  was  once  going  back  to  camp  just  at  dusk, 
after  a  fruitless  afternoon,  when  I  saw  a  good  fish 
jump  in  a  small,  quick-running  pool  known  as 
"  The  Judge's."  The  logs  were  very  thick  indeed, 
but  Jacques,  my  Indian,  insisted  on  anchoring 
for  a  trial  at  the  salmon.  There  seemed  hardly 
room  to  cast,  and  the  man  in  the  stern  had  to 
keep  a  sharp  lookout  to  shove  aside  the  logs  that 
might  otherwise  run  into  and  swamp  us.  Wait- 
ing awhile  for  a  clear  space  where  we  had  seen 
the  fish,  I  cast  over  him,  and  he  took  the  fly  at 
once,  and  in  spite  of  me  ran  under  a  floating  log 
before  the  anchor  could  be  lifted,  and  went  off 
with  a  yard  of  the  casting  line.  Quickly  putting 
on  another  fly,  I  threw  in  the  same  place,  where 
another  fish  hooked  directly.  Him  I  had  on  for 
perhaps  five  minutes,  but  could  not  get  ashore  by 
reason  of  the  logs,  and  this  salmon  managed  to 
foul  the  line  and  break  away  with  what  was  left  of 


Hours  for  Angling  147 

the  cast.  It  was  rather  discouraging,  but  we 
went  back  again,  and  the  third  or  fourth  cast 
brought  up  another  fish,  which  took  the  fly  within 
a  foot  of  a  passing  log.  Fortunately  I  was  able 
to  get  ashore  with  him,  and  as  soon  as  I  was 
landed  the  Indians  kept  the  canoe  above  me,  and 
with  their  poles  pushed  the  descending  logs  out 
of  the  way  as  much  as  they  could.  By  holding 
the  rod  high  so  as  to  let  such  logs  as  would  pass 
under  the  line  between  me  and  the  fish,  and  drop- 
ping the  point  sometimes  below  the  surface  of 
the  water  to  allow  other  logs  to  run  over  the  line, 
I  managed  after  various  narrow  escapes  from  dis- 
aster to  land  this  fish  and  another  hooked  after- 
ward in  the  same  place,  and  then  stopped,  as  it 
was  so  dark  that  there  was  danger  of  being  hit 
by  logs  we  could  not  see.  Evidently  an  as- 
cending school  of  salmon  had  decided  to  rest 
over  night  in  the  Judge's  Pool.  Handling  big 
and  lively  fish  such  as  these  (and  they  weighed 
twenty-four  and  twenty-five  pounds),  when  lots  of 
logs  are  running  and  the  light  fast  failing,  is 
about  as  exciting  business  as  I  know  of  in  the 
angling  way,  and  the  enjoyment  of  it  comes 
mostly  after  it  is  over. 

Salmon   fishing,   under  the   conditions   which 


148  Tbe  Atlantic  Salmon 

largely  prevail  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic,  is  an 
art  so  easily  acquired  as  to  bring  it  within  the 
compass  of  the  most  moderate  ability,  and  withal 
it  yields  more  pleasure  to  the  lover  of  sport  and  of 
nature  than  does  any  other.  No  properly  consti- 
tuted man  can  be  insensible  to  the  healthful 
charms  of  life  in  the  open  air,  in  a  world  just  as 
God  made  it,  nor  to  the  companionship  of  the 
spruce-clad  and  rugged  mountains  of  the  North 
through  which  the  river  has  cleft  its  way,  and,  full 
of  sparkling  ripples,  foaming  rapids,  and  swirling 
eddies,  follows  in  crystal  clearness  its  winding 
course  to  finally  lose  itself  in  the  broad  bosom  of 
the  ocean.  These  and  many  more  appeals  to  the 
better  parts  of  his  nature  are  the  portion  of  the 
salmon  angler,  and  his  unfailing  rewards  for 
blank  days  and  untoward  accidents. 

Besides,  he  has  the  keen  satisfaction  in  many 
cases  of  proving  his  inherited  possession  of  the 
faculties  which  enable  him  to  cope  successfully 
with  the  normal  conditions  of  life,  to  get  along 
comfortably  with  meagre  conveniences,  and  to  cre- 
ate these  by  his  own  ingenuity  from  the  materials 
offered  by  nature,  and  to  throw  aside  for  a  time, 
as  superfluous  and  effeminate,  the  bulk  of  the 
customs  and  luxuries  of  civilization,  which  is  an 


Hours  for  Angling  149 

unconscious  delight  of  a  sound  mind  in  approxi- 
mating aboriginal  modes  of  existence. 

Though  increasing  years  lessen  the  bodily 
vigor,  fortunately  they  do  not  take  away  in  the 
least  the  mental  and  spiritual  satisfaction  in  being 
close  to  nature  in  her  wilder  forms,  nor  prevent 
the  fullest  appreciation  of  her  many  varied 
charms,  especially  those  under  the  sweet  influ- 
ences of  which  salmon  fishing  is  practised. 

"  I  count  it  better  pleasure  to  behold 
The  Goodly  Compasse  of  the  lofty  Skye, 
And  in  the  midst  thereof  like  burning  gold 
The  flaming  chariot  of  the  World's  great  eye ; 
The  Watry  clouds  that  in  the  Ayre  uprold 
With  Sundry  Kinds  of  painted  Collours  flie ; 
And  fayre  Aurora,  lifting  up  her  head, 
And  blushing,  rise  from  old  Tithonus'  bed  — 
******* 
"  The  lofty  woods,  the  forests  wide  &  long, 
Adorned  with  leaves  and  branches  fresh  and  green, 
In  whose  cool  bours  the  birds  with  chaunting  song 
Do  welcome  with  their  Quire  the  Summer's  queen. 
The  meadowes  faire  where  Flora's  gifts  among 
Are  intermix!  the  verdant  grass  between  — 
The  Silver  skaled  fish  that  softly  swimme 
Within  the  brookes  and  Cristal  watry  brimme." 

—  J.  D.,  "Secrets  of  Angling,"  1630. 


THE  PACIFIC  SALMONS 

BY  C.  H.  TOWNSEND  AND  H.  M.  SMITH 


THE  PACIFIC  SALMONS 

DESCRIPTION   AND    NATURAL   HISTORY 
OF  THE  SPECIES 

THE  salmons  of  the  Pacific  coast  constitute  a 
well-marked  group  of  wide  distribution,  extraor- 
dinary abundance,  and  great  economic  impor- 
tance. No  other  river  fishes  in  the  world  support 
such  extensive  fisheries,  and  contribute  so  largely 
to  the  food  supply  of  man ;  beside  them  all  other 
salmon  are  comparatively  insignificant. 

The  genus  Oncorhynchus  (signifying  hooked 
snout),  to  which  the  Pacific  salmons  belong  and 
which  is  peculiar  to  the  North  Pacific  Ocean,  is 
closely  related  to  the  genus  Salmo,  the  differences 
appealing  rather  to  the  ichthyologist  than  to  the 
fisherman  or  layman.  The  features  separating 
the  two  genera  consist  chiefly  in  an  increased 
number  of  anal  rays,  branchiostegals,  gill-rakers, 
and  pyloric  caeca  in  the  western  fish.  The  five 
species  of  Oncorhynchus  differ  amoflg  themselves 
in  size,  color,  form,  squamation,  pyloric  append- 

153 


154  The  Pacific  Salmons 

ages,  gill-rakers,  and  other  structural  details,  and 
are  not  always  readily  distinguishable.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  anatomical  characters,  there  is  a 
fundamental  physiological  difference  between  the 
Pacific  salmons  and  the  fish  of  the  genus  Salmo ; 
the  latter  spawn  several  times,  while  the  former 
invariably  die  after  once  spawning. 

These  fishes  have  been  the  subject  of  many 
biological  investigations  on  the  part  of  the  United 
States  Fish  Commission,  some  of  the  most  impor- 
tant of  which  have  only  recently  been  com- 
pleted ;  and  the  general  life  history  of  the  most 
important  species  is  now  reasonably  well  known. 
The  records  of  that  bureau  have  been  freely  used 
in  this  account  of  the  habits,  distribution,  cultiva- 
tion, and  commercial  value  of  these  fishes. 

The  quinnat  salmon  (Oncorhynchus  tschawy- 
tschd)  bears  a  number  of  other  names  in  different 
regions,  such  as  chinook  salmon,  tyee,  king  sal- 
mon, Columbia  salmon,  and  Sacramento  salmon. 
The  specific  name  with  which  this  fine  fish  is 
encumbered  is  its  Russian  vernacular.  The 
euphonious  Indian  names,  quinnat  and  chinook, 
are  those  in  most  general  use.  The  species  may 
be  distinguished  by  its  large  size,  robust  form, 
conical  head,  small  eye,  forked  tail,  numerous 


Description  of  the  Species  155 

pyloric  caeca  (one  hundred  and  forty  to  one 
hundred  and  eighty-five),  rather  short  gill-rakers, 
about  twenty-three  in  number,  anal  fin  with  six- 
teen rays,  fifteen  to  nineteen  branchiostegals,  and 
one  hundred  and  thirty-five  to  one  hundred  and 
fifty-five  series  of  scales  between  the  head  and 
tail ;  the  back  has  dusky  bluish  or  greenish  color, 
the  sides  and  belly  are  silvery,  the  head  is  dark 
with  a  metallic  lustre,  and  the  back,  dorsal  fin, 
and  caudal  fin  have  small  black  spots. 

The  geographical  range  of  the  quinnat  is  from 
Monterey  Bay,  California,  northward  to  Norton 
Sound,  Alaska,  and  thence  down  the  Asiatic 
coast  as  far  as  China.  It  prefers  the  larger 
rivers,  like  the  Columbia,  the  Sacramento,  the 
Nushagak,  and  the  Yukon,  which  are  ascended 
for  long  distances,  in  some  instances  over  one 
thousand  miles;  but  it  also  enters  many  of  the 
shorter  coast  streams. 

This  fish  is  first  seen  in  Monterey  Bay  as  early 
as  January,  and  many  are  there  caught  by  an- 
glers for  several  months,  while  the  fish  are  fre- 
quenting this  rendezvous  and  becoming  fat  on 
small  fish,  preparatory  to  entering  the  Golden 
Gate  and  beginning  their  long  and  last  journey 
up  the  Sacramento,  which  stream  many  have 


156  The  Pacific  Salmons 

entered  by  February.  In  March  the  fish  is  seen 
in  the  Columbia,  but  not  until  May  does  it  be- 
come abundant  there.  It  seeks  the  shores  of 
southern  Alaska  in  May,  and  probably  does  not 
reach  the  Yukon  until  the  latter  part  of  June 
or  early  in  July.  The  runs  continue  for  four  to 
six  months  in  the  more  southern  waters,  while 
in  northern  Alaska  the  running  season  is  very 
short,  probably  not  exceeding  four  to  six  weeks. 

This  fish  is  justly  called  "  royal  chinook 
salmon  "  and  "  king  salmon  "  by  the  people  of  the 
Pacific  states,  for  no  other  salmon  in  the  world 
compares  with  it  in  size.  In  the  Yukon  and 
Norton  Sound  it  attains  a  weight  of  one  hundred 
and  ten  pounds,  and  in  the  Columbia  of  over 
eighty  pounds.  Examples  weighing  forty  to 
sixty  pounds  are  common  in  the  Columbia  and 
Sacramento,  and  the  average  weight  of  those 
caught  in  the  former  stream  is  nearly  twenty-five 
pounds. 

Since  the  discovery  of  gold  on  the  upper  Yu- 
kon, large  numbers  of  king  salmon,  often  of 
huge  size,  have  been  taken  at  Dawson,  eighteen 
hundred  miles  from  the  sea,  and  salmon  are 
known  to  pass  above  that  point. 

The  greater  part  of  the  life  of  the  salmon  is 


Description  of  tbe  Species  157 

spent  at  sea,  where  its  full  growth  and  sexual 
maturity  are  attained.  It  is  the  general  opinion 
of  authorities  that  the  quinnat  does  not  wander 
far  from  the  mouth  of  the  stream  in  which  it 
was  hatched ;  for  this  reason,  and  not  because 
of  any  special  homing  instinct,  it  is  likely  to 
return  to  its  native  river  when  impelled  by  the 
spawning  instinct  to  enter  fresh  water.  Salmon, 
when  seeking  fresh  water,  will  sometimes,  how- 
ever, try  to  ascend  rivulets  flowing  into  the 
sea  too  small  to  permit  of  the  passage  of  such 
fish  at  any  time.  It  is  a  common  practice  for 
natives  in  the  Aleutian  Islands  to  seine  salmon 
in  abundance  along  shores  where  there  are  no 
streams  whatever,  the  fish  remaining  persistently 
within  a  few  feet  of  the  beaches  where  there 
is  considerable  seepage  from  the  moss-covered 
hills.  This  fact  shows  that  they  will  enter  streams 
other  than  those  from  which  they  were  derived. 
Up  to  the  time  the  fish  enters  a  stream  and 
begins  its  migration  to  the  spawning  grounds, 
it  continues  to  feed ;  but  when  once  its  up-stream 
journey  is  fairly  begun,  it  loses  the  ability  to  eat, 
owing  to  the  atrophy  of  its  digestive  organs. 

When  just  in  from  the  ocean,  the  quinnat  is  a 
handsome,  resplendent,  shapely  fish,  although  its 


158  The  Pacific  Salmons 

outlines  are  rather  less  graceful  than  those  of  the 
Atlantic  salmon.  Its  flesh  is  of  a  uniform  rich 
orange-red  color,  becoming  paler  and  streaked  as 
the  spawning  season  approaches. 

According  to  the  observations  of  the  fishermen, 
salmon  appear  to  pass  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Columbia  to  the  Cascades,  about  one  hundred 
and  forty  miles,  in  ten  or  twelve  days.  In  the 
rapid  upper  waters  they  doubtless  travel  more 

slowly. 

Sexual  Differences 

External  sexual  differences  are  scarcely  dis- 
cernible when  the  salmon  first  come  in  from  the 
ocean,  but  as  the  time  for  spawning  advances  the 
sexes  become  more  and  more  dissimilar  in  ap- 
pearance. The  developing  ova  give  to  the 
female  a  plump  aspect,  while  the  male  grows 
gaunt  and  thin,  and  the  shape  of  his  head  is 
strongly  modified ;  the  jaws  become  curved  and 
hooked,  the  eyes  are  sunken,  large  teeth  appear 
in  both  jaws,  and  his  general  appearance  is  savage 
and  repelling. 

Spawning 

Spawning  begins  shortly  after  the  upper  waters 
are  reached.  The  fish,  in  pairs,  usually  occupy  a 
position  at  the  upper  end  of  a  riffle,  where  the 


Description  of  ibe  Species  159 

current  is  strong,  and  where  there  are  stones 
among  which  the  eggs  may  lodge.  The  female 
extrudes  a  few  eggs  and  moves  away.  The  male 
then  takes  the  same  place  and  emits  a  quantity 
of  milt.  In  a  short  time  the  process  is  repeated, 
and  this  continues  day  and  night  for  one  or  two 
weeks.  At  irregular  intervals,  the  female  turns 
on  her  side  and  forces  the  tail  into  the  gravel, 
making  an  excavation  six  or  eight  inches  deep 
and  several  feet  across.  Thus  are  formed  the 
so-called  salmon  "  nests,"  which  are  not  nests  at 
all,  as  they  are  not  made  for  the  reception  of 
eggs  and  do  not  contain  eggs,  which  are  carried 
farther  down-stream  by  the  current.  The  object 
of  these  movements  is  undoubtedly  to  loosen  the 
eggs  from  the  ovaries  and  thus  facilitate  their 
expulsion.  Doubtless  but  a  small  percentage  of 
the  eggs  deposited  are  ever  fertilized,  although, 
from  the  equal  number  of  males  present,  the 
water  must  be  more  or  less  permeated  with  the 
fertilizing  product. 

Shortly  after  the  spawning  act  is  completed  the 
fish  of  both  sexes  die.  Since  coming  into  fresh 
water,  their  vitality  has  gradually  become  reduced, 
the  scales  have  been  absorbed,  the  fins  and  tail 
have  become  worn  off,  the  skin  has  been  lost 


160  The  Pacific  Salmons 

in  places  which  have  been  covered  with  fungus, 
parasites  attack  the  gills,  and  death  mercifully 
ensues. 

The  number  of  eggs  deposited  by  the  quinnat 
is  about  three  hundred  or  four  hundred  for  each 
pound  weight  of  the  parent  fish.  The  loss  of 
eggs  under  natural  conditions  is  large,  owing  to 
non-fertilization,  to  destruction  by  other  fish,  and 
to  death  by  being  covered  with  gravel  and  sand. 
The  investigations  of  the  United  States  Fish 
Commission  indicate  an  average  loss  of  eighty- 
five  per  cent  from  these  causes.  The  eggs  which 
are  unmolested  hatch  in  seven  to  ten  weeks  in 
California  (four  or  five  months  in  Alaska),  and 
the  alevin  stage  lasts  six  weeks  longer,  during 
which  a  further  heavy  mortality  —  amounting  to 
twelve  or  thirteen  per  cent  —  occurs.  After  the 
young  begin  to  swim  they  are  comparatively  free 
from  enemies,  and  the  seaward  migration  is  ac- 
complished without  noteworthy  diminution  in 
numbers. 

The  duration  of  the  ocean  life  of  the  salmon 
has  not  been  determined,  but  recent  experiments 
in  the  marking  of  fry  have  shown  that  in  Cali- 
fornia and  Oregon  the  quinnat  salmon  come 
back  to  spawn  in  the  second,  third,  and  fourth 


Description  of  the  Species  161 

years    after    hatching,    most    of    them    probably 
returning  in  the  second  season. 

It  is  not  known  whether  the  large-sized  salmon 
always  found  in  the  annual  runs  are  individuals 
which  have  encountered  conditions  unusually 
favorable  for  their  growth,  or  are  fish  that  have 
prolonged  their  stay  in  salt  water  far  beyond 
the  customary  period. 

The  Blue-back  Salmon 

The  blue-back  salmon  (Oncorhynchus  nerka)  is 
known  under  the  name  redfish,  red  salmon,  Eraser 
River  salmon,  blue-back,  and  sockeye.  It  is  more 
abundant  than  all  other  species  combined,  and  is 
the  salmon  par  excellence  of  Puget  Sound,  the 
Fraser  River,  and  Alaska.  The  species  may  be 
recognized  by  its  small  size,  rather  slender  form, 
slightly  forked  tail,  and  the  following  anatomical 
characters:  pyloric  caeca  slender  and  seventy-five 
to  ninety-five  in  number;  gill-rakers  long  and 
averaging  thirty-two  to  forty ;  anal  fin  with  four- 
teen to  sixteen  rays,  branch iostegals  thirteen  to 
fifteen;  scales  in  longitudinal  series  about  one 
hundred  and  thirty.  The  fish  when  fresh  from 
the  sea  has  a  bright  blue  back  and  silvery  sides 
and  under  parts,  there  being  no  spots  anywhere. 


1 62  Tbe  Pacific  Salmons 

At  the  spawning  period  the  back  and  sides  become 
red,  and  the  male  develops  an  extravagantly  hooked 
lower  jaw. 

The  blue-back  ranges  from  northern  California 
to  the  far  north,  ascending  those  streams  which 
rise  in  cold,  snow-fed  lakes,  and  spawning  in  the 
affluents  of  lakes. 

It  is  one  of  the  smallest  of  the  salmon,  the 
maximum  weight  being  only  fifteen  pounds; 
specimens  weighing  over  eight  pounds  are  rare, 
and  the  average  is  under  five  pounds.  An 
interesting  form  of  the  blue-back,  apparently 
landlocked  in  lakes  in  Idaho,  Washington,  and 
elsewhere,  weighs  only  half  a  pound  when 
mature,  and  is  known  as  the  little  redfish. 

The  Humpback  Salmon 

The  humpback  salmon  (Oncorhynchus  gorbu- 
schd]  is  the  smallest  member  of  the  genus;  it 
rarely  reaches  a  weight  of  ten  pounds,  and  aver- 
ages only  five  pounds.  The  principal  specific 
characters  are  the  very  small  scales,  two  hundred 
and  ten  to  two  hundred  and  forty  in  the  longi- 
tudinal series;  slender  pyloric  caeca,  about  one 
hundred  and  eighty  in  number ;  twenty-eight  short 
gill-rakers,  fifteen  rays  in  the  anal  fin,  eleven  or 


o 

h 

O,  jj 

O  | 

2  < 

X  E 

E  w 


Description  of  tbe  Species  163 

twelve  branchiostegals ;  a  bluish  color  above  and 
silvery  on  sides ;  the  posterior  part  of  back,  adipose 
fin,  and  tail  with  numerous  small  black  spots.  It 
ranges  from  San  Francisco  to  the  Arctic  Ocean, 
and  is  found  in  abundance  on  the  Asiatic  coast. 
In  Alaska  it  is  the  most  abundant  and  generally 
distributed  of  the  salmons,  but  in  the  Pacific 
States  it  does  not  ordinarily  occur  in  great  num- 
bers, although  there  is  sometimes  a  large  run  in 
the  Puget  Sound  region. 

During  the  exploration  of  the  Kowak  River, 
which  lies  within  the  Arctic  Circle,  Mr.  Town- 
send  found  humpback  and  dog  salmon  very 
abundant,  the  Eskimo  from  the  coast  being 
located  in  temporary  camps  along  the  river  for 
the  purpose  of  drying  fish  for  winter  use. 

The  humpback  usually  ascends  small  streams 
for  the  purpose  of  spawning,  and  often  deposits  its 
eggs  within  a  few  rods  of  the  sea.  When  it  first 
comes  in  from  the  ocean,  it  resembles  the  quinnat 
salmon  in  form  and  color,  but  as  the  spawning 
season  advances  it  develops  a  large  hump  on  the 
back,  whence  the  common  name.  This  promi- 
nence, together  with  the  distortion  of  the  jaws, 
gives  this  species  a  very  striking  appearance. 

When  fresh  from   the   sea   the   humpback   is 


164  Tbe  Pacific  Salmons 

scarcely  inferior  in  food  value  to  any  other 
salmon,  but  until  very  recently  it  has  not  entered 
largely  into  the  food  supply,  the  chief  consump- 
tion being  by  Alaskan  natives. 

The  Silver  Salmon 

The  silver  salmon  (Oncorhynchus  kisutck]  is  also 
known  as  silversides,  skowitz,  kisutch,  hoopid, 
and  coho  salmon.  It  has  a  graceful  form,  and  a 
brilliant  silvery  skin.  It  may  be  further  distin- 
guished by  the  comparatively  few  pyloric  caeca 
(forty-five  to  eighty  in  number),  by  the  long  and 
slender  gill-rakers,  of  which  there  are  about 
twenty-three,  the  short,  conical  head,  long  body, 
small  eye,  and  deeply  forked  tail.  It  abounds  in 
short  coast  streams  in  Oregon  and  Washington, 
and  is  taken  in  large  numbers  in  the  Columbia 
River,  Puget  Sound,  and  elsewhere.  It  ranges 
from  San  Francisco  to  Alaska,  and  thence  down 
the  coast  of  Asia  as  far  as  Japan.  Although  it 
sometimes  attains  a  weight  of  thirty  pounds,  its 
average  weight  in  the  United  States  is  only  eight 
pounds,  but  in  Alaska  it  is  nearly  twice  as  large. 
In  fall  and  early  winter  it  runs  up  the  streams  to 
spawn,  not  usually  ascending  long  distances  from 
the  ocean. 


Description  of  the  Species  165 

The  Dog  Salmon 

The  dog  salmon  (Oncorkynchus  kef  a)  has  from 
one  hundred  and  forty  to  one  hundred  and  eighty- 
five  pyloric  caeca,  fifteen  short  gill-rakers,  medium- 
sized  scales,  and  thirteen  or  fourteen  rays  in  the 
anal  fin.  Its  form  resembles  that  of  the  quinnat. 
It  is  dusky  above,  paler  on  the  sides,  and  is  usu- 
ally covered  with  fine  spots.  The  average  weight 
is  twelve  pounds,  and  the  maximum  twenty  pounds. 
Its  range  is  from  San  Francisco  to  Kamchatka, 
although  it  is  not  equally  abundant  in  all  parts  of 
its  habitat,  the  largest  runs  being  in  Alaska.  The 
enlargement  and  distortion  of  the  jaws,  together 
with  its  very  large  teeth,  give  to  this  species  its 
common  name.  It  is  the  least  valuable  of  the 
salmons.  When  just  from  the  salt  water  the  flesh 
has  a  fine  red  color  and  is  not  unpalatable,  but  it 
quickly  deteriorates.  It  spawns  in  the  fall  in 
shallow  rivers  and  creeks. 

The  Steelhead 

The  steelhead  (Salmo  gairdneri],  while  in 
reality  a  trout,  is  popularly  regarded  as  a  salmon, 
and  on  the  west  coast  is  known  as  winter  salmon, 
hardhead,  salmon-trout,  and  square-tailed  trout. 


1 66  The  Pacific  Salmons 

It  bears  a  close  resemblance  to  the  Atlantic 
salmon.  Its  maximum  weight  is  thirty  pounds, 
and  its  average  ten  pounds.  It  has  a  wide  dis- 
tribution, ascending  nearly  all  streams  from  Santa 
Barbara,  California,  to  the  Alaska  peninsula.  The 
first  run  in  the  Columbia  is  in  the  fall,  when  the 
fish  is  in  prime  condition ;  but  spawning  does  not 
occur  until  February  to  May.  The  usual  spawn- 
ing grounds  are  the  head  waters  of  the  streams, 
the  steelhead  being  as  indefatigable  as  the  quin- 
nat  in  pushing  its  way  inland. 

It  has  harder  skull  bones  than  the  salmons,  and 
its  head  is  of  a  bright  steely  color,  whence  its 
name. 

This  admirable  fish  is  a  general  favorite,  on 
account  of  its  size,  beauty,  game  ness,  and  food 
value.  It  is  at  its  best  as  a  table  fish  when 
recently  from  the  sea,  and  large  quantities  are 
then  caught  for  immediate  consumption,  and  also 
for  trans-shipment  to  the  interior  and  Eastern 
States.  Increasing  quantities  are  also  utilized 
for  canning  purposes  in  the  Columbia  and  other 
rivers. 

Unlike  the  Pacific  salmons,  it  feeds  freely  in 
fresh  water,  and  does  not  die  in  the  streams  after 
spawning,  but  returns  to  the  sea.  This  habit 


Feeding  in  Fresh  Water  167 

demonstrates  its  generic  affinities  as  clearly  as  do 
its  anatomical  characters. 

At  the  spawning  season  the  jaws  of  the  male 
steelhead  undergo  some  changes,  but  not  to  the 
great  extent  that  they  do  in  the  salmon. 

Feeding  in  Fresh  Water 

It  may  be  accepted  as  an  established  fact  that 
the  Pacific  salmons  do  not  feed  in  fresh  water 
except  in  rare  instances.  After  leaving  tide 
water  the  throat  becomes  contracted,  and  dissec- 
tion shows  no  food  in  the  stomach. 

The  tendency  to  feed  becomes  less  the  longer 
they  remain,  and  when  one  has  seen  the  enormous 
runs  of  salmon  that  sometimes  actually  crowd 
the  streams,  so  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  wade 
without  stepping  upon  them,  it  becomes  apparent 
that  they  could  not  make  their  rapid  journeys  to 
the  head  waters  of  the  largest  rivers  and  have  time 
to  feed,  and  that  there  could  not  be  food  enough 
to  supply  them  if  they  required  it.  If  such  hordes 
should  become  hungry  while  on  the  spawning 
grounds  hundreds  of  miles  from  the  sea,  one  could 
imagine  the  effect  on  the  spawning  operations. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  the  salmon,  after  leaving 
tide  water,  lives  on  its  own  supply  of  fat  and 


1 68  Tbe  Pacific  Salmon 

blood.  Its  flesh  becomes  less  and  less  red,  and 
the  fish  becomes  thinner  as  it  advances  up-stream. 
In  most  rivers  the  salmon  arrives  on  the  spawning 
beds  in  fair  condition,  but  by  the  time  it  has 
located  on  the  spawning  grounds  at  the  head 
waters  of  the  larger  streams  it  is  not  merely  ema- 
ciated, but  starved  and  diseased,  and  its  generally 
run-down  condition  is  shown  in  the  sores  and 
injuries  on  its  body  from  head  to  tail.  "  Worn 
to  a  frazzle "  is  an  expression  that  might  have 
originated  in  a  description  of  a  Pacific  salmon 
late  in  the  spawning  season  and  far  up-stream. 

In  the  process  of  evolution  the  salmon  may 
have  lost  the  desire  to  feed  in  fresh  water  through 
the  competition  met  with  in  the  ascent  of  the 
rivers,  the  great  distances  to  be  traversed,  and  the 
lack  of  food  in  any  stream  necessary  to  supply  as 
greatly  increased  a  population  of  fishes  as  occurs 
in  the  spawning  season.  Any  one  who  has  seen 
the  virgin  salmon  streams  of  Alaska  knows  that  no 
stream  could  contain  food  for  the  legions  crowded 
between  its  banks  at  spawning  time.  If  ani- 
mals remain  for  a  time  where  there  is  no  food  to 
be  had,  they  must  do  without  it.  This  is  not  only 
true  of  anadromous  fishes,  but  is  illustrated  in 
the  case  of  the  male  fur  seals,  which  when  on 


Feeding  in  Fresh  Water  169 

their  breeding  rookeries  take  neither  food  nor 
water  for  two  or  three  months. 

The  degree  of  emaciation  reached  and  the 
extent  of  the  injuries  received  by  the  salmon  by 
the  time  it  has  spawned  preclude  the  possibility 
of  its  recovery  even  if  it  reaches  salt  water  alive. 
Death  is  a  natural  result  of  the  conditions. 

In  Alaska,  the  humpback  and  dog  salmon,  in 
the  last  stages  of  exhaustion,  may  be  seen  in 
brooks  after  spawning,  within  a  stone's  throw  of 
the  sea,  still  struggling  up-stream.  At  this  time 
all  desire  to  feed  or  return  to  salt  water  is  gone, 
the  fish  linger  until  they  die  from  exhaustion,  and 
the  stream  becomes  offensive  from  the  abundance 
of  dead  fish. 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  salmon  cares 
little  for  food  when  in  fresh  water  and  pressing 
up-stream  under  the  strong  instinct  to  seek  its 
spawning  grounds,  it  can  be  induced  to  take  the 
angler's  bait  or  spoon  when  properly  presented, 
even  taking  a  little  food  at  times  on  its  own 
account.  Perhaps  the  devices  of  the  angler  are 
more  attractive  to  these  sea  fish  than  anything  to 
be  found  in  the  streams.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
that  many  salmon  are  taken  by  anglers  at  great 
distances  from  the  sea,  with  the  spoon  and  with 


1 70  The  Pacific  Salmon 

salmon-roe  bait.  While  the  ascending  salmon 
has  a  mission  to  perform  and  never  loses  any 
time  seeking  food,  it  may  be  induced  to  take 
attractive  baits  that  are  thrown  in  its  way.  Most 
of  those  so  captured  are  males. 

The  fact  remains  that,  while  food  is  sometimes 
found  in  the  fish,  it  feeds  little  and  becomes  more 
and  more  emaciated,  until  at  the  conclusion  of 
the  spawning  season  it  dies  from  lack  of  nutri- 
tion. 

Cultivation  and  Acclimatization 

The  Pacific  salmons  received  the  attention  of 
fish  culturists  at  a  comparatively  early  date,  and 
to-day  are  among  the  leading  fishes  propagated 
by  the  general  government  and  the  States  of  the 
Western  seaboard.  Owing  in  part  to  the  exten- 
sive fishing,  especially  that  at  and  near  the 
mouths  of  rivers,  and  in  part  to  the  pollution 
of  waters  and  to  obstructions,  the  preservation  of 
these  fish  is  to  a  very  large  extent  dependent 
on  artificial  propagation,  and  the  maintenance  of 
the  supply  in  the  face  of  an  enormous  annual 
catch  is  very  generally  attributed  to  the  work  of 
the  hatcheries. 

Associated  with  the  first  salmon  hatching  on 
the  Pacific  coast  is  the  name  of  one  of  the 


Cultivation  and  Acclimatisation        171 

pioneers  of  fish  culture.  As  early  as  1873,  when 
fish  culture  was  still  in  its  infancy,  Livingston 
Stone  penetrated  what  was  then  the  almost 
unbroken  wilderness  of  northern  California, 
located  on  the  McCloud  River,  and  artificially 
fertilized  and  hatched  salmon  eggs  at  a  little  sta- 
tion appropriately  called  Baird,  in  honor  of  one 
whose  services  in  behalf  of  the  food  and  game 
fishes  of  the  country  entitle  him  to  the  everlast- 
ing gratitude  of  sportsmen,  commercial  fishermen, 
and  the  general  public. 

From  this  small  beginning  at  Baird,  salmon 
culture  has  gradually  increased,  until  now  it  is 
carried  on  at  more  than  a  score  of  government 
and  State  hatcheries  in  California,  Oregon,  and 
Washington,  at  which,  in  1901,  more  than  a 
hundred  million  eggs  were  taken  and  incubated. 
While  the  quinnat  salmon  receives  most  atten- 
tion, the  blue-back  salmon,  the  silver  salmon,  the 
dog  salmon,  and  the  steelhead  come  in  for  a  fair 
share. 

For  an  account  of  the  interesting  methods 
adopted  in  the  artificial  propagation  of  these 
species,  the  reader  should  consult  "  The  Manual 
of  Fish  Culture,"  published  by  the  United  States 
Fish  Commission. 


172  Tbe  Pacific  Salmon 

It  is  not  often  possible  to  gage  the  effects  of 
fish-cultural  work  in  public  waters,  and  this  is 
especially  true  of  the  Pacific  salmons.  Some 
light  has,  however,  been  thrown  on  this  subject 
by  the  marking  of  young  salmon  prior  to  their 
release  in  the  open  waters ;  thus,  at  the  hatchery 
on  the  Clackamas  River,  Oregon,  one  lot  of  five 
thousand  fingerling  salmon  was  liberated  in  1896 
after  having  the  adipose  dorsal  fins  cleanly  shaved 
off  with  a  razor.  So  many  of  these  fish  were 
subsequently  captured  as  mature  individuals  as  to 
indicate  that  an  unexpectedly  large  proportion  of 
young  salmon  turned  out  by  the  hatcheries  sur- 
vive and  return  to  the  rivers.  Between  four  and 
five  hundred  of  the  fish  so  marked  are  known  to 
have  been  recaptured,  the  minimum  weight  of 
which  was  not  less  than  ten  thousand  pounds. 
These  figures  indicate  that  for  every  thousand  fry 
liberated,  two  thousand  pounds  of  adult  fish  were 
caught  for  market.  The  cost  of  producing  and 
planting  young  salmon  at  the  government  hatch- 
eries does  not  exceed  one  dollar  per  thousand, 
and  the  value  of  the  fish  resulting  therefrom 
caught  for  market  is  at  least  $100,  or  five  cents 
per  pound. 

The   possibility   of  acclimatizing    the    Pacific 


Cultivation  and  Acclimatisation        173 

salmons  in  other  waters  was  early  considered, 
and  many  large  plants  of  fry  were  placed  in  the 
Atlantic  rivers  from  the  Delaware  northward ; 
but  no  noteworthy  or  lasting  results  attended 
these  efforts.  More  recently  the  attempt  has 
been  renewed  by  the  planting  of  large  numbers 
of  yearling  fish  in  the  most  suitable  eastern 
streams  and  in  the  Great  Lakes,  and  strong 
hopes  are  entertained  that  success  may  eventu- 
ally be  attained.  A  quinnat  weighing  over  ten 
pounds  was  taken  on  a  trolling  spoon  at  the  head 
of  the  St.  Lawrence  River  in  September,  1899; 
this  fish  could  not  have  been  older  than  two  and 
one-third  years.  Another  fine  example,  weighing 
twelve  and  one-half  pounds,  was  caught  in  a  gill- 
net  in  September,  1900.  In  the  spring  of  1896, 
the  planting  of  steelhead  fry  in  rivers  at  the  west- 
ern end  of  Lake  Superior  was  begun.  By  June, 
1897,  many  young  salmon  six  to  eight  inches  long 
were  caught  in  the  streams,  but  it  was  not  until 
the  following  year  that  the  fish  appeared  in  the 
lake.  In  the  summer  and  fall  of  1898  steelheads 
were  taken  by  the  commercial  fishermen  operat- 
ing along  the  American  and  Canadian  shores  of 
Lake  Superior,  and  by  anglers  in  several  of  the 
streams  entering  the  lake  north  of  Duluth.  Fish- 


174  Tbe  Pacific  Salmon 

ermen  setting  large-meshed  gill-nets  in  deep  water 
for  lake  trout  frequently  obtained  steelheads  four- 
teen to  eighteen  inches  long,  one  man  at  Isle 
Royal  reporting  twenty-seven  fish  thus  caught  by 
him.  Most  of  the  fish  secured  in  the  nets  were 
not  gilled,  but  were  held  by  the  dorsal  fin  after 
the  head  had  passed  through  the  nets;  smaller- 
meshed  nets  would  undoubtedly  have  taken  many 
more  fish.  A  member  of  the  Duluth  fly-casting 
club  states  that  in  two  days  members  of  his  club 
caught  over  four  hundred  steelheads  in  Sucker 
River,  he  himself  taking  eighty-five  fish  in  one 
day;  he  further  reports  that  he  has  personal 
knowledge  of  not  less  than  twenty-two  hundred 
steelheads  taken  with  hook  and  line  from  French 
and  Sucker  rivers  in  1898.  These  fish  were  seven 
to  fourteen  inches  long,  and  took  the  artificial 
fly  as  readily  as  do  brook  trout.  The  largest 
specimen  recorded  was  twenty-eight  inches  in 
length. 

The  quinnat  salmon  has  been  transplanted  to 
France,  New  Zealand,  and  Australia,  but  with  no 
very  decided  benefit  up  to  this  time.  At  the 
Trocadero  Aquarium  in  Paris  the  species  has 
been  reared  through  seven  or  eight  generations 
in  ponds. 


Salmon  Fishing  175 

Economic  Importance  of  Salmon 

The  quantity  of  salmon  taken  annually  from 
the  waters  of  the  Pacific  States,  British  Columbia, 
and  Alaska  is  almost  past  comprehension,  and 
the  question  may  well  be  asked,  How  long  will 
the  rivers  continue  to  yield  these  enormous  quan- 
tities with  inadequate  protective  measures  ?  The 
yearly  drain  on  the  supply  now  exceeds  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  million  pounds  in  the  United  States 
and  forty-five  million  pounds  in  British  Columbia, 
with  a  market  value  of  more  than  $13,000,000. 
The  great  centres  of  the  salmon  fishery  are  the 
Columbia  River,  Puget  Sound,  Fraser  River,  and 
Kadiak.  As  the  fish  come  to  the  shores  and 
ascend  the  rivers,  they  are  caught  with  all  kinds 
of  appliances  and  are  incessantly  harassed  by  sea- 
lions,  white  men,  and  Indians.  Large  quantities 
are  consumed  fresh,  but  the  principal  part  of  the 
catch  is  canned.  Owing  to  the  rich  red  color  of 
the  flesh,  which  persists  after  cooking,  the  chinook 
and  the  blue-back  salmon  are  the  most  useful  for 
canning  purposes.  The  blue-back  is  the  most 
valuable  species,  considered  in  the  aggregate,  and 
is  the  leading  salmon  of  Puget  Sound,  Fraser 
River,  and  Alaska.  The  steelhead  is  taken  in 


176  The  Pacific  Salmon 

much  smaller  numbers  than  the  other  species,  but 
its  value  is  relatively  higher. 

A  peculiar  method  of  taking  salmon  in  salt 
water  is  practised  by  the  Indians  of  Washington 
and  British  Columbia,  called  reef-net  fishing,  in 
which  a  large  square  piece  of  netting  is  held  be- 
tween two  canoes.  The  latter  are  anchored  on 
some  reef  or  other  shoal  over  which  the  salmon 
must  pass.  A  lookout  is  kept,  and  when  the 
mass  of  fish  are  between  the  two  canoes,  the 
net  is  quickly  lifted  by  the  ropes  attached  to  its 
sides  and  corners,  and  emptied  into  one  of  the 
canoes. 

In  the  McCloud,  and  other  streams  tributary 
to  the  Sacramento,  we  have  seen  a  method  of 
salmon  fishing  by  Indians  practised  apparently 
nowhere  else:  booths,  or  lodges,  covered  with 
green  boughs,  are  constructed  at  points  just  be- 
low riffles  and  rapids,  where  the  fish  pause  before 
entering  very  rapid  waters.  The  lodges  overhang 
the  water,  and  have  no  more  flooring  than  will 
afford  a  seat  for  the  fisherman.  From  the  dark- 
ened interior  the  Indian  has  a  good  view  of  the 
fish  passing  underneath,  and  strikes  them  readily 
with  a  double-pronged  spear. 


Salmon  Fishing  177 

Angling  for  Salmon 

It  took  the  angler  a  long  time  to  find  out  how 
to  fish  for  Pacific  salmon.  For  a  generation 
people  had  been  catching  them  in  seines  and 
gill-nets,  and  putting  them  into  tin  cans  at  the 
rate  of  millions  of  dollars'  worth  a  year,  but  it  was 
not  until  about  ten  years  ago  that  sportsmen  as  a 
class  woke  up  to  the  fact  that  there  was  good 
salmon  angling  in  the  bays  and  tidal  waters 
generally. 

Information  received  by  the  United  States  Fish 
Commission  from  various  sources  shows  that  an 
important  quantity  of  salmon  is  now  taken  regu- 
larly by  trolling,  not  merely  by  sportsmen,  but 
by  the  professional  fishermen. 

In  taking  the  Pacific  salmons,  whether  in  the 
bays  or  rivers,  the  spoon  must  be  depended  upon 
chiefly.  Bright  feathers  attached  to  the  hook 
are  advantageous.  In  the  rivers  the  best  success 
is  usually  to  be  had  below  falls  which  the  fish 
have  difficulty  in  passing.  We  have  noticed  that 
salmon  may  often  be  taken  below  the  racks 
placed  in  the  streams  near  Government  fish 
hatcheries,  where  their  progress  was  arrested 
temporarily,  when  they  could  not  be  taken  at 


178  The  Pacific  Salmon 

points  some  distance  above,  where  they  were  also 
abundant.  Spokane  Falls  and  the  Falls  of  the 
Willamette  are  localities  well  known  to  salmon 
anglers. 

There  is  no  doubt  that,  under  favorable  con- 
ditions, the  Pacific  salmon  will  take  the  fly,  and 
it  is  quite  possible  that  the  most  attractive  fly 
has  not  yet  been  discovered.  Much  of  the  fly 
fishing  for  salmon  on  the  Pacific  coast,  however, 
has  really  been  for  steelheads,  the  angler  failing 
to  make  the  proper  distinction. 

Salmon  may  be  taken  with  roe-bait  in  pools  well 
up  in  the  head  waters  of  the  streams.  In  the 
McCloud  they  are  easily  taken  with  the  spoon, 
while  the  young,  before  leaving  the  river,  will  rise 
to  the  fly,  and  are  often  taken  in  the  spring  in 
trout  fishing.  On  several  occasions  the  grilse 
accompanying  the  run  of  large  salmon  have  been 
taken  with  the  fly,  some  of  them  weighing  about 
four  pounds. 

In  Washington  and  British  Columbia,  tidal- 
water  sportsmen  take  even  the  largest  salmon 
with  the  rod  and  spoon,  while  the  late-running 
silver  salmon  often  take  the  fly. 

The  most  southerly  point  on  the  Pacific  coast 
where  salmon  are  taken,  either  commercially  or 


Salmon  Fisbing  179 

for  sport,  is  Monterey  Bay,  although  a  few  have 
been  caught  farther  south. 

Previous  to  1893  ^ew  salmon  were  taken  in 
Monterey  Bay  by  any  kind  of  apparatus,  but  in 
that  year  trolling  for  them  was  accidentally  intro- 
duced during  the  fishing  for  mackerel,  and  both 
anglers  and  commercial  fishermen  were  quick  to 
take  advantage  of  the  discovery. 

This  sea  fishing  has  lengthened  the  salmon 
season,  both  for  sport  and  for  commercial  pur- 
poses, and  has  permitted  the  marketing  the  fish 
at  a  time  when  their  food  value  is  unsur- 
passed. 

It  is  surprising  that  fishermen  were  not  previ- 
ously aware  that  salmon  entered  the  bay  in  con- 
siderable numbers,  and  could  be  taken  with  the 
hook  in  paying  quantities ;  but  this  was  no  doubt 
due  to  the  fact  that  salmon  in  this  region  do  not 
appear  at  the  surface,  jumping  and  leaping  out  of 
water  as  they  do  when  coming  in  contact  with 
fresh  water.  The  object  of  the  salmon  in  enter- 
ing Monterey  Bay  is  to  feed  on  the  sardines, 
smelts,  and  squid  that  are  found  during  the  sum- 
mer months,  there  being  no  streams  of  any  con- 
siderable size  to  attract  them. 

Salmon  are  taken  in    Monterey   Bay   in   two 


i8o  The  Pacific  Salmon 

ways —  trolling  with  spoon,  with  and  without  bait, 
and  with  baited  hook  attached  below  a  heavy 
sinker.  Previous  to  the  arrival  of  sardines, 
smelts,  or  other  small  species  on  which  salmon 
feed,  that  is,  in  quantities  to  make  bait  easy  to 
obtain,  sportsmen  use  rod  and  spoon ;  but  as 
soon  as  bait  is  to  be  had,  this  method  is  aban- 
doned for  the  sinker  hook.  As  a  substitute  for 
bait  a  bait-spoon  is  sometimes  used,  but  a  baited 
hook  is  preferred.  Sportsmen  who  make  the 
trip  from  San  Francisco  and  elsewhere,  use  split 
bamboo  rods  of  various  makes,  ranging  in  size 
from  ten  to  twelve  ounces.  Occasionally  a  fancy 
and  expensive  rod  is  seen.  A  variety  of  lines 
is  used,  both  silk  and  linen,  varying  in  length 
from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hundred  yards ; 
the  spoons  also  vary  in  size,  from  Nos.  5  to  7.  As 
may  be  supposed,  a  great  variety  and  many  dif- 
ferent sizes  of  hooks  are  used  on  the  same  size 
of  spoon,  each  angler  carrying  out  his  own  ideas 
as  to  the  kind  of  hook  best  suited  to  his  wants. 
The  average  hook  used  in  connection  with  a 
spoon  corresponds  in  size  to  a  No.  14  cod  trawl 
hook  with  a  slightly  longer  shank.  Some  use  the 
brazed  treble  hook ;  this  style  is  not  a  favorite 
among  the  sportsmen.  Mr.  A.  B.  Alexander 


Salmon  Fishing  181 

states  that  the  "  Wilson  "  spoon,  lately  introduced, 
is  very  effective.  It  is  made  in  all  sizes,  No.  6 
being  most  in  demand.  In  shape  it  resembles 
the  shell  of  the  razor  clam,  being  long  and 
narrow,  and  rounded  at  each  end.  It  is  claimed 
that  this  style  of  spoon  cuts  and  sheers  in  the 
water  more  than  the  ordinary  spoon,  and  is  more 
attractive  to  the  salmon.  All  fishing  is  carried 
on  from  skiffs  and  small  rowboats. 

As  before  stated,  as  soon  as  bait  is  obtainable 
the  above  apparatus  is  abandoned,  and  the  sinker 
and  hook  brought  into  use.  This  style  of  fishing 
gear  consists  of  a  linen  line,  sometimes  cotton, 
size  from  nine  to  fifteen  thread,  with  a  five-ounce 
lead  sinker  having  a  brass  eye  in  each  end  to 
which  the  line  and  snood  are  fastened.  The 
snood  is  from  five  to  six  feet  in  length,  and 
halfway  between  the  sinker  and  hook  is  a 
small  brass  box  swivel,  size  No.  4,  to  admit  of 
the  hook  turning  freely.  The  hooks  vary  in 
size  and  shape  according  to  taste  of  the  fisher- 
men using  them.  The  average  sizes  are  8/0, 
9/0,  and  10/0,  some  eyed  and  others  flattened. 
The  same  kind  of  rods  are  used  in  both  methods 
of  fishing. 

A  great  many  more   salmon   are   taken  with 


1 82  The  Pacific  Salmon 

baited  hooks  than  with  spoons,  commercial  fisher- 
men seldom  if  ever  using  the  latter.  The  pro- 
fessional fishermen's  trolling  lines  are  rigged 
somewhat  differently  from  those  used  by  the 
sportsmen,  although  on  the  same  principle.  A 
common  bamboo  pole  answers  every  purpose,  for 
it  is  not  sport  that  the  fisherman  is  after,  but  the 
greatest  number  of  fish  in  the  shortest  time.  A 
fish  being  hooked,  the  pole  is  dropped  and  the 
line  hauled  in  hand  over  hand,  skill  being  exer- 
cised in  manipulating  it  so  as  not  to  lose  the 
prize.  Frequently  no  rod  is  used,  the  line  either 
being  held  in  the  hand,  or  made  fast  with  a  half- 
hitch  round  the  loom  of  the  oar.  The  line  is 
generally  cotton,  thirty-two  thread,  from  eighty  to 
one  hundred  feet  in  length;  hook  five  inches 
long,  shaped  something  like  a  halibut  hook,  but 
with  the  shank  longer.  In  baiting  the  hook  care 
is  taken  to  have  the  shank  entirely  covered,  leav- 
ing the  barb  and  point  bare,  hence  the  object  of 
the  extra  length.  The  baits  giving  the  best 
results  are  sardines  and  smelts,  and  the  whole 
fish  is  used.  The  sinker  is  much  heavier  than 
that  adopted  by  the  sportsmen,  weighing  about 
four  pounds,  and  being  fastened  to  the  line 
twenty-five  feet  above  the  hook.  The  bait  is 


Salmon  Fisbing  183 

towed  at  a  depth  of  at  least  twenty  feet  —  some- 
times the  fish  are  much  deeper. 

The  usual  sailing  speed  in  trolling  is  four  miles 
an  hour,  and  the  average  size  of  fish  taken  is  a 
little  over  twenty  pounds,  although  fifty  pounders 
are  sometimes  caught.  The  best  of  the  season  is 
in  June,  but  there  is  good  fishing  well  into  Au- 
gust ;  and  sometimes  salmon  are  taken  here  by 
trolling  throughout  the  winter,  as  in  1896-97. 
The  best  fishing  is  usually  to  be  had  during  the 
forenoon,  and  twenty-five  fish  are  considered  a 
good  day's  catch  for  one  hook.  Even  the  com- 
mercial fisherman  have  some  sport,  as  the  fish  are 
gamey,  nearly  all  jumping  out  of  the  water  while 
being  hauled  in. 

Monterey  is  the  only  place  on  the  Pacific  coast 
where  an  important  number  of  market  fishermen 
use  the  hook  and  line  for  salmon.  The  fishing 
has  increased  steadily  each  year  since  its  begin- 
ning, and  in  1901  there  were  taken  by  this  method 
approximately  190,786  pounds  of  salmon,  or  about 
10,000  fish  in  number,  most  of  which  were  placed 
in  cold  storage  and  shipped  to  various  parts  of  the 
East.  About  one  hundred  boats  were  engaged. 

In  the  Eel  River,  in  northern  California,  there 
is  good  salmon  trolling  in  the  fall.  The  fish  are 


184  The  Pacific  Salmon 

taken  in  tide  water,  chiefly  by  professional  fisher- 
men, using  from  twenty  to  thirty  boats ;  but  many 
anglers  come  for  sport  fishing,  and  occasionally 
capture  fish  weighing  forty  or  fifty  pounds.  It 
takes  the  sportsman  an  hour  on  the  average  to  land 
one  of  the  larger  fish. 

Only  a  few  salmon  have  been  taken  by  trolling 
in  San  Francisco  Bay  and  the  Sacramento  River. 

At  Red  Bluff  and  other  points  farther  up  the 
Sacramento  River,  in  places  not  over  four  hun- 
dred or  five  hundred  feet  wide,  farmers  and  other 
people  living  in  the  vicinity  place  lines  across  the 
stream,  to  which  are  attached  seven  or  eight 
spoons,  equal  distances  apart,  suspended  from 
the  main  line  by  snoods  about  two  feet  long,  thus 
forming  what  might  be  termed  a  surface  trawl. 
The  current  striking  the  line  keeps  the  spoons  in 
motion,  which  answers  the  same  purpose  as  a  spoon 
on  a  line  handled  from  a  boat.  In  this  way  six  or 
eight  salmon  are  sometimes  taken  in  a  day  on  a 
single  line.  No  bait  is  used,  and  no  fishing  is 
performed  along  the  banks  of  the  river  with  either 
fly  or  spoon.  At  Battle  Creek  in  the  same  region 
salmon  are  frequently  taken  by  casting  a  spoon 
below  the  racks  used  in  closing  the  stream  near 
the  government  fish  hatchery. 


Salmon  Fishing  185 

The  Indians  of  Neah  Bay,  Washington,  do  a 
considerable  business  in  trolling  for  silver  salmon, 
and  have  been  known  to  take  as  many  as  four  thou- 
sand fish  in  a  day.  The  principal  fishing  grounds 
lie  off  the  mouth  of  the  bay,  in  the  vicinity  of 
Tatoosh  Rock,  and  some  two  or  three  miles 
farther  south.  The  catch  is  mostly  shipped  to 
a  cannery  at  Port  Townsend. 

Early  in  the  morning  the  Indians  repair  to  the 
grounds,  remaining  out  all  day,  and  sometimes 
after  dark,  the  weather  permitting.  The  spoons 
are  about  two  sizes  larger  than  those  used  else- 
where on  the  coast,  with  no  increase  in  the  size 
of  the  hook.  Trolling  lines  are  usually  white 
cotton,  sometimes  tanned,  size  thirty  thread.  A 
complete  fishing  outfit  consists  only  of  a  line  one 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  long  and  a  trolling  spoon. 
Pieces  of  salmon  and  small  herring  are  used  for 
bait. 

In  trolling,  the  canoe  is  paddled,  except  in  very 
light  breezes,  when  the  sail  is  set.  The  line  is 
held  in  the  hand  which  grasps  the  upper  part  of 
the  paddle.  When  a  fish  is  hooked  the  paddle 
is  thrown  into  the  bottom  of  the  canoe  and  a 
straight  overhand  pull  begins.  The  canoe  being 
light,  her  headway  soon  stops,  which  lessens  the 


1 86  The  Pacific  Salmon 

strain  on  the  line,  thereby  increasing  the  chances 
of  securing  the  salmon. 

Salmon  trolling  is  performed  in  the  same  way 
and  with  the  same  kind  of  tackle  off  Seattle  and 
in  other  parts  of  Puget  Sound.  Sportsmen, 
however,  are  much  given  to  using  rod  and  reel 
and  playing  the  fish,  deriving  more  pleasure  in 
landing  one  fish  in  this  way  than  in  taking  a 
dozen  salmon  after  the  manner  of  the  market 
fishermen. 

At  Killisnoo,  Alaska,  the  run  of  king  salmon 
that  strike  the  coast  readily  take  a  spoon.  They 
come  in  to  feed  on  the  herring  which  annually 
visit  these  waters.  Spoons  and  lines  of  the  same 
pattern  and  size  are  employed  by  the  Killisnoo 
Indians  as  at  Neah  Bay,  and  the  same  kind 
of  bait  is  used.  The  fish  taken  are  for  home 
consumption.  At  times  when  salmon  will  not 
take  a  spoon  at  the  surface,  a  baited  hook  lowered 
to  the  bottom  frequently  induces  them  to  bite. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  there  are  many 
places  along  the  west  coast  where  salmon  could 
be  taken  by  trolling  just  as  well  as  at  Monterey 
and  off  Cape  Flattery.  During  the  survey  of 
ocean  fishing  banks  off  the  Oregon  coast  by  the 
Fish  Commission  steamer  Albatross,  two  or  three 


Salmon  Fishing  187 

salmon  were  hooked  on  the  cod  lines  used  in 
testing  the  fishing  grounds.  These  were  taken 
four  or  five  miles  off  shore  in  probably  thirty 
fathoms.  In  a  few  instances  salmon  have  been 
hooked  on  common  fishing  gear  from  four  to 
six  miles  off  the  coast  of  Washington  in  thirty 
to  forty  fathoms.  One  fishing  captain  took  thir- 
teen chinook  salmon  six  miles  off  the  Washing- 
ton coast  by  trolling  at  thirty  fathoms  where  the 
soundings  were  forty  fathoms,  and  another  fisher- 
man took  one  chinook  six  miles  farther  out.  It 
now  seems  probable  that  a  thorough  trial  by  deep 
trolling  all  along  our  coast  will  show  that  the 
salmon  are  "  on  soundings  "  during  a  considera- 
ble part  of  the  time  they  spend  at  sea. 

Angling  for  Steelheads 

The  fishing  season  is  not  limited  to  the  time 
that  the  steelhead  is  in  the  rivers,  for  it  may  be 
found  in  the  lower  tidal  waters  at  almost  any 
time  of  the  year.  In  the  coast  rivers  of  northern 
California  it  may  be  taken  from  early  in  the  fall 
until  midwinter. 

There  is  especially  good  fishing  for  the  steel- 
head  in  the  Russian,  Navarro,  and  Eel  rivers 
north  of  San  Francisco  in  the  fall,  and  it  may  be 


1 88  The  Pacific  Salmon 

taken  with  the  spoon  or  with  a  variety  of  flies. 
Ten-pound  fish  are  about  the  usual  size,  and  each 
may  be  depended  upon  to  furnish  a  long  fight. 
During  the  open  season  many  anglers  from 
San  Francisco  fish  for  steelheads  in  Olema  River 
and  about  the  head  of  Tomales  Bay.  The  spoon 
for  taking  the  steelhead  is  much  smaller  than 
that  used  for  salmon  in  Monterey  Bay,  although 
different  sizes  are  found  among  fishermen,  rang- 
ing from  Nos.  2  to  5.  The  lines  are  mostly  silk, 
fifty  yards  being  about  the  maximum  length. 
Worms,  grasshoppers,  and  minnows  are  used  for 
bait  in  spoon  casting.  Some  anglers  cannot  be 
induced  to  use  bait,  much  preferring  fly  fishing. 
Flies  of  the  usual  varieties  found  in  anglers'  fly 
books  are  brought  into  use  in  fishing  this 
stream.  Men  and  boys  living  in  this  locality,  not 
possessing  the  expensive  tackle  of  the  anglers, 
fish  with  common  bamboo  poles,  both  with  and 
without  reels;  some  have  silk  lines,  but  the  ma- 
jority use  linen  lines.  Fishing  is  done  almost 
wholly  from  the  banks  of  the  river,  wading  the 
stream,  and  from  marshy  points  projecting  into 
the  bay,  and  occasionally  from  a  small  boat  or 
skiff  anchored  off  some  favorite  spot  near  the 
shore. 


Salmon  Fishing  189 

During  the  run  of  steelheads  in  Eel  River 
many  anglers  from  San  Francisco  find  excellent 
sport  there.  The  river  is  fished  by  trolling  from 
a  boat,  whipping  the  stream  with  rod  and  fly, 
and  baited  snelled  hook.  The  bait  changes  with 
the  season,  and  in  fly  fishing  a  great  variety  is 
used,  repeated  changes  being  made  according  to 
the  time  of  day  and  the  condition  of  the  weather. 
The  general  favorite,  however,  is  the  small  red 
fly.  A  twelve-ounce  split  bamboo  rod  is  mostly 
used,  both  in  trolling  and  fishing  with  fly.  The 
spoons  used  are  the  Wilson  pattern,  Nos.  3,  4, 
and  5,  and  the  average  length  of  line  is  one  hun- 
dred yards ;  it  is  of  the  best  quality  of  solid 
silk,  Nos.  4  and  5  being  the  standard  sizes. 
Three  feet  above  the  spoon  is  a  piece  of  sheet 
lead  wound  round  the  line,  weighing  from  four 
to  five  ounces.  In  shallow  parts  of  the  river  the 
lead  acts  as  a  protection  to  the  spoon,  giving 
warning  to  the  fishermen  when  the  hook  is  near 
the  bottom.  Some  fishermen  attach  a  gut  leader 
above  the  spoon,  but  others  claim  that  fish  are 
lost  by  it.  It  is  said  that  large  spoons  take 
large  fish,  and  that  it  seldom  happens  that  a 
fish  of  any  considerable  size  is  caught  on  a  small 
spoon.  A  great  deal  of  salmon  roe  is  used  for 


190  The  Pacific  Salmon 

bait,  as  well  as  pieces  of  salmon  cut  into  nar- 
row strips. 

It  has  been  stated  that  the  steelhead  does  not 
ascend  the  Sacramento  as  far  as  the  Me  Cloud, 
but  we  saw  one  there  in  1 884.  It  was  recognized 
as  a  rarity  by  the  men  engaged  in  taking  salmon 
eggs  for  the  government  hatchery  and  was  saved 
for  identification. 

The  mere  fact  that  the  steelhead  belongs  tech- 
nically to  the  trouts  and  not  to  the  salmons 
should  not  affect  its  reputation  as  a  game  fish. 
It  is  probably  as  gamey  a  fish  as  the  Atlantic 
salmon,  and  it  is  large-sized  and  fights  well  when 
hooked.  No  one  thought  of  calling  it  anything 
but  a  salmon  until  the  naturalists  pointed  out  the 
characters  that  identified  it  as  a  trout.  To  most 
of  the  people  of  the  west  coast  it  is  still  a  salmon. 

A  time  is  coming  when  there  will  be  an  army 
of  anglers  fishing  for  the  steelhead  in  all  the 
beautiful  streams  of  the  west  coast  from  the 
Russian  River  to  the  Straits  of  Fuca. 


THE  TROUTS  OF  AMERICA 

By  WILLIAM  C.  HARRIS 


THE  TROUTS  OF  AMERICA 

CHAPTER   I 

ANGLING,  ITS  ANTIQUITY  AND  LITERATURE  — DIS- 
TRIBUTION OF  TROUTS  AND  CHARRS  — CLASSIFICA- 
TION—NATIVE  TROUTS  AND  FOREIGN  SPECIES 
INTRODUCED  TO  AMERICAN  WATERS 

THE  literature  of  ichthyology  and  angling  is 
as  old,  doubtless  older,  than  the  classics.  When 
Socrates  was  teaching  philosophy  in  the  aca- 
demic groves  of  ancient  Athens,  and  Diogenes 
was  still  in  prime  cynical  vigor,  Herodotus,  the 
pioneer  in  ichthyic  research,  in  the  fifth  century 
before  the  Christian  era,  was  engaged  in  stream 
observation  and  in  the  study  of  zoology,  direct 
and  comparative.  Oppian,  in  the  second  century, 
gave  to  the  Roman  world,  in  his  "  Halieutica," 
the  first  treatise  on  fishing,  and  earlier  still,  the 
old  Greeks  practised  the  art  of  angling,  for 
Homer  tells  us:  — 

"  Of  beetling  rocks  that  overhang  the  flood, 
Where  silent  anglers  cast  insidious  food, 
With  fraudful  care  await  the  finny  prize, 
And  sudden  lift  it  quivering  to  the  skies," 

o  193 


194  The  Trouts  of  America 

The  Macedonians,  before  the  age  of  Alexan- 
der the  Great,  used  a  crude  fly  made  of  purple 
wool  with  wings,  which  they  called  the  "hippu- 
rus  " ;  it  was  said  to  be  of  the  size  of  a  hornet, 
marked  like  a  wasp,  and  when  manipulated, 
buzzed  like  a  bee;  it  was  used  to  lure  the 
fishes  of  the  river  Astreus  and  those  of  smaller 
streams,  which  were  said  by  y£lian  to  have  been 
"  speckled  fishes." 

In  the  prophecies  of  Isaiah,  chap.  xix.  ver.  8, 
the  unrighteous  fishermen  are  warned  in  these 
words :  — 

"  The  fishers  also  shall  mourn  and  all  they 
that  cast  angles  into  the  brooks." 

In  1486,  six  years  before  the  discovery  of 
America,  Wynken  de  Worde,  among  the  first  of 
English  printers,  published  that  famous  work, 
"  The  Booke  of  St.  Albans  "  on  "  the  dyssporte  of 
fysshyng"  by  Dame  Juliana  Berners  or  Barnes, 
the  Prioress  of  Sopwell  in  England;  it  was  the 
first  book  on  fish  and  fishing  printed  in  the 
English  language. 

From  about  the  same  period  we  have  handed 
down  to  us  a  canticle  sung  by  the  monks,  the 
words  of  which  are  redolent  with  the  spirit  of 
angling :  — 


Antiquity  of  Angling  195 

"  The  sun  was  setting  and  vespers  done,  the  monks  came  one 
by  one, 

And  down  they  went  through  the  garden  trim  in  cassock  and 
cowl  to  the  river's  brim, 

Every  brother  his  rod  he  took,  every  rod  had  a  line  and  hook, 

Every  hook  had  a  bait  so  fine,  and  thus  they  sang  in  the  even 
shine, 

'  Oh  !  to-morrow  will  be  Friday,  so  we  fish  the  stream  to-day  ! 

Oh !  to-morrow  will  be  Friday,  so  we  fish  the  stream  to- 
day ! '  —  BENEDICITE." 

The  old  dame,  among  her  other  unctuous  sur- 
roundings as  Prioress  of  Sopwell,  had  the  pike 
and  the  carp,  and,  doubtless,  the  perch  and  tench, 
in  the  ponds  of  the  Priory,  with  the  red-spotted 
brown  trout  coursing  a  brook  not  distant.  To 
fish  on  Thursday  for  Friday's  meals  was  not 
only  a  delight  but  a  necessity  for  these  hooded 
disciples  of  the  craft,  and  the  refrain  of  the  old 
canticle  and  the  jollity  of  the  air  of  it,  accentu- 
ated, as  it  doubtless  was  by  the  lifting  of  a  fat 
carp  from  the  adjacent  moat,  or,  perhaps,  a  lusty 
trout  from  the  near-by  stream,  stirred  their  blood 
even  as  ours  leaps  to-day  when  the  monarch  of 
the  brook  is  braving  skill  and  tackle. 

Nearly  two  hundred  years  after  the  publica- 
tion of  "  The  Booke  of  St.  Albans,"  Walton  wrote 
his  angling  idyl,  "  The  Compleat  Angler,"  and 


196  The  Trouts  of  America 

from  1653,  the  year  in  which  it  was  printed,  to 
the  present  time,  about  thirty-five  hundred  works 
on  angling,  in  various  popular  and  edition-de- 
luxe forms,  have  been  published. 

With  these  records  before  them,  angling  stu- 
dents are  inclined  to  believe  that  "the  speckled 
fish  "  lured  by  the  ancient  Macedonians  with  an 
artificial  fly  or  bug,  were  either  trout  or  closely 
allied  to  that  genus.  Also,  that  the  prophet 
Isaiah  in  the  use  of  the  words,  "  they  that  cast 
angles  into  the  brooks,"  had  reference  to  a  prac- 
tice identical  or  similar  to  that  of  modern  fly- 
fishing, more  particularly,  as  it  was  reported  by 
a  correspondent  of  The  American  Angler,  some 
ten  years  ago,  that  he  had  found  a  varietal 
form  of  the  charr-trout  in  the  upper  waters  of 
the  River  Jordan. 

Certainly  no  fishes  of  the  fresh  waters,  except 
possibly  the  small  cyprinoids,  or  carplike  min- 
nows, have  a  greater  or  more  general  distribu- 
tion, above  latitude  40°,  than  those  of  the  salmon 
family,  particularly  the  so-called  trouts.  Wher- 
ever water  exists  of  a  temperature  not  higher 
than  65°,  the  trout  will  be  found,  or  can  be  suc- 
cessfully planted  and  increased.  In  swiftly  run- 
ning, highly  aerated  waters  they  have  been  known 


Distribution  197 

to  live,  but  not  thrive  lustily,  when  the  temper- 
ature is  slightly  over  70°.  Such  water  condi- 
tions exist  all  over  the  temperate  zone,  and 
in  the  elevated  portions  of  the  semi-tropical. 
At  the  present  day  these  fish  are  found  on  the 
western  coast  of  America  from  the  Arctic  Cir- 
cle to  the  head  of  the  Gulf  of  California,  and  in 
the  streams  of  the  northern  mountains  of  Mexico. 
In  the  Old  World  they  have  been  discovered  as 
far  south  as  the  Atlas  Mountains  of  Africa,  the 
mountain  streams  of  Persia,  and  in  the  Hindu 
Kush  or  Indian  Caucasus  of  the  colossal  range 
of  the  Himalayas. 

On  the  eastern  coast  of  North  America,  the 
red-spotted  charr-trout  (fontinalis)  is  found  from 
Labrador  south  to  the  head  waters  of  the  Savan- 
nah, Chattahoochee,  Catawba,  and  French  Broad 
rivers ;  and  west  and  northwest  of  the  Mississippi 
we  find  at  least  twenty-three  species  of  our  so- 
called  indigenous  salmon-trouts,  some  of  them 
leaping  and  flashing  from  the  waters  of  Kam- 
chatka, while  their  congeners  are  disporting  in 
the  mountain  streams  of  Arizona  and  in  the 
lakes  of  Mexico. 

The  many  species  of  trout  of  the  streams  west 
of  the  Mississippi  are  not  considered  indigenous 


198  The  Trouts  of  America 

to  North  American  waters,  for  it  is  now  the  con- 
sensus of  opinion  among  American  ichthyolo- 
gists that  these  fish  originated  in  Asia,  crossing 
Behring  Straits  or  the  adjacent  sea,  and  passing 
southward  and  eastward  to  the  Upper  Columbia, 
thence  to  the  Yellowstone  and  Missouri  rivers ; 
from  the  Missouri  southward  to  the  Platte  and 
the  Arkansas,  and  from  there  being  generally  dis- 
tributed over  the  Pacific  slope  from  the  Fraser 
River  southward.  Be  this  as  it  may,  and  at  best 
it  is  merely  an  ichthyic  theory;  we  find  the  origi- 
nal parent  fish,  after  leaving  their  Asian  Eden, 
multiplying  in  Western  waters  into  twenty-four 
species  of  trout,  all  black  spotted  save  one,  the 
Dolly  Varden.  East  of  the  Mississippi  thirteen 
species  and  subspecies  of  the  charr-trouts  exist, 
including  the  lake  trout  or  togue  (Namaycus/i), 
which  is  also  found  in  the  extreme  northwest 
as  far  as  the  Arctic  Circle,  and  excluding  the 
Dolly  Varden,  which  is  a  charr  of  the  Pacific 
slope. 

In  Great  Britain  and  on  the  eastern  continent 
not  less  than  ten  species  of  trout  and  charrs  are 
known  under  specific  classification.  We  find 
non-migratory  trout  in  the  waters  of  Hungary, 
Switzerland,  France,  Bavaria,  Italy,  Norway, 


D   3 


H 


Distribution  199 

Sweden,  Siberia,  Lapland,  and  in  Algeria  and 
India;  and  migratory  species  along  the  shores 
of  Europe,  Northern  Asia,  and  even  as  far  south 
as  the  Crimea,  and  at  the  entrance  of  the  harbor 
of  Sebastopol.  From  the  geographical  situa- 
tion and  climate  of  the  Scandinavian  Peninsula 
it  may  be  inferred  that  it  is  inhabited  by  a 
greater  number  of  species  of  salmonoids  than 
exist  in  other  sections  of  the  Continent  or  in 
Great  Britain. 

Constant  additions  are  being  made  in  the  dis- 
covery of  new  species  or  varietal  forms,  and  in 
the  opinion  of  many  European  ichthyologists  the 
hybrids  of  the  charrs  and  salmon-trouts  are  adding 
to  the  number  of  confused  and  complicated  spe- 
cies, until  Gunther,  one  of  the  most  prominent 
fish  savants,  is  obliged  to  confess :  — 

"  We  know  no  other  group  of  fishes  which 
offers  so  many  difficulties  to  the  ichthyologist, 
with  regard  to  the  distinction  of  species  as  well 
as  to  certain  points  in  their  life  history  as  this 
genus  (Salmo).  .  .  .  The  almost  infinite  varia- 
tions of  these  fishes  are  dependent  on  age,  sex, 
and  sexual  development,  food,  and  the  properties 
of  the  water.  Some  of  the  species  interbreed, 
and  the  hybrids  mix  again  with  one  of  the  parent 


200  The  Trouts  of  America 

species,  thus  producing  an  offspring  more  or  less 
similar  to  the  pure  breed.  .  .  ." 

To  add  to  this  confusion  in  the  identification 
and  classification  of  species,  other  potent  factors 
exist,  of  which  the  widely  variant  coloration  is 
not  the  least.  Trout  of  the  same  species,  when 
found  in  widely  separated  waters,  and  in  some 
instances  in  the  same  habitat,  very  often  present 
striking  differentiation  in  color  and  physique.  I 
have  found  three  distinct  forms  and  standards  of 
coloration  in  the  same  species  of  Rocky  Moun- 
tain trout,  the  cut-throat  or  black-spotted  trout 
(Salmo  clarkii).  Those  of  the  Yellowstone  River 
have  stout  bodies  and  yellow  coloration  of  rather 
a  dense  hue ;  those  of  the  Gallatin  River  are  not 
so  stout  at  the  shoulders,  and  have  a  bright  sil- 
very coating,  while  the  Elk  Creek  fish  is  more 
clipper-built,  has  a  cleaner  run  than  his  congeners 
of  the  Yellowstone  and  Gallatin,  with  a  more  brill- 
iant silvery  sheen,  barred  with  brown.  Age  does 
not  seem  to  alter  these  conditions,  for  a  half-pound 
fish,  caught  in  either  of  the  waters  named,  is  as 
characteristically  marked  as  one  weighing  a  pound, 
and  these  streams  are  all  in  Montana  and  not  dis- 
tant more  than  three  hundred  miles,  as  the  crow 
flies,  one  from  the  other. 


Distribution  201 

All  these  fish  are  classed  under  the  cut-throat 
species  because  of  the  crimson  slash  appearing 
on  the  under  jaw  or  throat-latch ;  but  this  mark- 
ing is  frequently  indistinct  and  occasionally 
absent,  and  to  render  confusion  more  pro- 
nounced, these  cut-throat  trout  frequently  have 
a  faint,  sometimes  bright,  pinkish  lateral  band 
upon  them,  thus  encroaching  on  the  distinctive 
marking  of  the  rainbow  series  of  fishes. 

In  Wood  River,  a  few  miles  from  Ketchum, 
in  southern  Idaho,  I  have  taken  a  trout  with  no 
tracing  of  the  crimson  markings  on  the  throat- 
latch  or  lower  jaw,  but  with  a  bright,  broad  band 
of  pink  along  the  lateral  line,  and  have  not,  as 
yet,  been  satisfied  as  to  its  correct  classification 
—  it  may  have  been  a  cut-throat,  or  it  may  have 
been  a  rainbow,  for  we  are  told  by  ichthyologists 
that  the  three  series  of  western  salmon-trouts  — 
the  cut-throat,  rainbow,  and  steelhead  —  are  only 
provisionally  retained  as  distinct,  the  prominent 
differentiation  between  them  being  only  in  the 
number  and  size  of  the  scales  and  the  apparently 
diverse  coloration  of  the  fish. 

Anglers  all  know  that  the  male  of  the  eastern 
red-spotted  trout  (fontinalis]  is  much  more 
highly  colored  during  the  spawning  season  than 


202  The  Trouts  of  America 

at  any  other  period  of  the  year.  The  same 
is  true  of  the  sea  salmon  and  all  others  of 
the  same  family,  including  those  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains  and  other  waters  of  the  far  West, 
and  doubtless  nature  has  bestowed  upon  the 
male  trout  increased  beauty  of  coloration  dur- 
ing the  erotic  period  to  enhance  his  charms 
and  render  his  amours  more  fascinating  to  the 
female. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  coloration  is  not 
to  be  depended  upon  in  distinguishing  species, 
there  being  seldom  found  a  trout  which  in  all 
its  stages  of  development  will  present  an  uniform 
coloration.  The  prevailing  marking  of  all  young 
salmonoids,  trout  particularly,  is  the  dark  bars 
running  transversely  across  the  body.  These 
disappear  when  the  fish  reaches  a  length  of  six 
to  eight  inches,  and  yet  I  found  the  trout  of 
Elk  Creek,  Montana,  to  retain  these  markings  at 
all  stages  of  their  growth. 

Again,  the  properties  of  the  water,  its  depth 
and  slowness  or  rapidity  of  current,  have  a  visible 
effect  upon  the  coloration  of  trout.  On  the 
Ontonagon  River,  Michigan,  about  twelve  miles 
north  of  the  Wisconsin  line,  there  is  a  quiet 
stretch  of  water  nearly  two  hundred  feet  in 


Distribution  203 

length,  densely  bordered  by  a  growth  of  over- 
hanging alders.  Under  these,  and  at  a  depth  of 
five  or  six  feet,  the  trout  lie  in  wait  for  falling 
insects.  These  fish,  when  freshly  taken  from  the 
water,  are  found  to  be  of  dark  coloration,  the 
vermiculations  or  mottlings  on  the  back  but 
faintly  outlined,  yet  the  red  or  crimson  spots  are 
more  brilliant  than  ordinarily  occurs.  They  are 
stouter  than  usual  at  the  shoulders,  the  body 
broader  and  more  aldermanic  in  its  proportions ; 
they  are  well  fed,  do  not  have  to  forage  vigor- 
ously for  food,  and  rise  to  an  artificial  fly  leisurely 
and  lazily.  One  hundred  feet  above  this  pool  is 
another,  smaller  and  more  shallow,  into  and  out 
of  which  turbulent  rapids  pour.  Take  a  fish,  as 
I  have  done,  from  this  swim,  and  he  will  be  found 
of  lighter  coloration,  a  slimmer  and  cleaner-cut 
body,  with  the  olive  mottlings  on  his  back  clearly 
outlined,  and  the  red  spots  not  so  bright.  Near 
the  head  of  the  large  pool  named  there  is  a  little 
rill  that  flows  into  the  river  over  a  shallow  sand 
bar,  some  ten  inches  in  depth,  and  about  five  feet 
broad.  The  trout  from  the  deeper  reaches  of  the 
still  water  occasionally  come  on  this  bar,  prob- 
ably to  bask  in  the  sun,  as  there  is  apparently 
no  food  there  for  them.  In  a  few  moments  their 


204  The  Trouts  of  America 

dark  bodies  assume  a  lighter  shade,  the  anterior 
streak  of  dirty  white  on  their  belly  fins  becomes 
of  a  richer  cream,  and  the  wormlike  markings 
on  the  back  change  from  blackish  to  dark  olive 
clearly  and  strikingly  defined.  These  changes 
in  coloration  are  certainly  involuntary  and  are  a 
provision  of  nature  to  protect  them  from  their 
enemies  of  the  air  and  water. 

Again,  we  find  that  the  difference  in  size  and 
in  the  proportions  of  the  body  in  trout  of  the 
same  age,  present  further  difficulties  in  identi- 
fication of  species.  The  head  especially  is  sub- 
ject to  great  alteration  as  the  fish  grows  to 
maturity;  the  fins,  according  to  Gunther,  of 
those  inhabiting  rapid  streams,  as  well  as  still 
waters,  show  considerable  variations  in  form 
and  length;  those  of  the  fish  in  rapid  water 
being  in  almost  constant  motion  causes  the 
wearing  off  of  the  delicate  extremities,  hence 
the  fin-rays  are  comparatively  shorter,  stouter, 
and  of  a  more  rounded  form.  Moreover,  one 
and  the  same  individual  may  pass  a  part  of  its 
life  in  a  lake,  and  enter  a  river  at  certain  periods, 
thus  changing  the  form  of  its  fins,  as  well  as  gen- 
eral coloration,  almost  periodically. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  exact  classification  in 


Classification  205 

our  fish  fauna  must  be  based  upon  anatomical 
lines,  the  structure  of  internal  organs ;  for  to  de- 
pend upon  the  difference  in  individual  fishes  in 
shape,  coloration,  size  of  the  head  at  certain 
stages  of  growth,  spread  and  shape  of  tail,  or  vari- 
ation in  weight,  would  be  like  building  up  a  new 
classification  for  the  human  family  based  upon 
the  phrenological  lines  of  the  head,  size  and  flop 
of  ears,  pedal  spread,  freckles  or  no  freckles, 
excessive  youthful  growth  or  height  or  rotundity 
in  individuals. 

From  this  rich  but  somewhat  incongruous 
material  at  their  command,  ichthyologists  have 
classified  the  trouts  of  American  waters  into 
salmon-trouts  and  charr-trouts.  None  of  the 
former  is  indigenous  to  the  waters  east  of  the 
Mississippi  River,  and  but  one  of  the  latter  — 
the  Dolly  Varden  —  is  a  native  of  the  Pacific 
slope.  The  lake  trout  (a  large,  coarse  charr)  is 
found  in  Eastern  waters,  and  northwest  as  far  as 
the  Arctic  Circle ;  and  in  this  connection  anglers 
should  bear  in  mind  that  the  word  "  trout "  in 
general  use  and  so  indiscriminately  employed  to 
designate  all  species  of  their  favorite  fish,  should 
be  discarded :  the  "  trout  "  (Salvelinus),  so  called, 
of  Eastern  waters  are  all  charrs  except  the 


206  The  Trouts  of  America 

imported  species  of  salmon-trouts  from  abroad 
and  from  the  far  West.  The  t routs  proper  (Salmo) 
are  the  salmon-trouts  of  foreign  importation,  and 
those  indigenous  to  waters  west  of  the  Mississippi 
River. 

This  classification  of  the  trouts  is  based  upon 
anatomical  differences  of  structure  in  the  two 
genera,  the  details  of  which  will  be  given  as  each 
fish  is  treated  separately :  they  consist  mainly  in 
the  arrangement  and  location  of  the  teeth.  If  an 
angler  is  in  doubt  as  to  the  proper  generic  status 
of  his  trout  or  charr,  he  has  only  to  put  his  finger 
in  the  mouth  of  the  fish,  and  if  a  single  or  double 
row  of  teeth  is  found  on  the  front  and  rear  part 
of  the  bone  on  the  roof  of  the  mouth,  he  holds  in 
his  hand  a  salmon-trout ;  if  only  a  single  patch 
exists  in  the  rear  of  the  bone,  he  has  a  charr-trout 
under  inspection.  It  must  be  remembered,  how- 
ever, that  sometimes  these  teeth  are  accidentally 
lost,  and  that  they  disappear  gradually  with  age, 
and  at  times  they  will  be  found  placed  alternately 
rather  than  in  a  double  or  single  series ;  but  in  all 
species  of  our  American  trouts,  the  rule  as  above 
given  should  be  found  sufficient  for  identification ; 
the  angler,  if  in  doubt,  being  careful  to  examine 
several  fish  of  the  same  species.  It  should  also 


Classification  207 

be  stated  that  the  surest  external  physical  charac- 
teristic which  may  be  said  to  be  constant  in  each 
species  and  by  which  identification  is  assured,  is 
the  size  of  the  scales  as  shown  in  the  number  of 
vertical  series  between  the  front  of  the  dorsal 
fin  and  the  lateral  line;  but  as  these  scales  are 
almost  microscopic  in  most  of  our  American 
trouts,  and  as  the  skin  on  the  back  of  old  male 
trouts  is  apt  to  become  spongy  and  thick,  the 
scales  becoming  invisible  from  being  embedded 
in  the  skin,  this  test  is  beyond  the  reach  of  the 
ordinary  angler  on  the  stream. 

The  ichthyologist  seeks  for  correct  classifica- 
tion of  Salmonidae  primarily  in  the  number  of 
vertebrae;  the  number  of  pyloric  appendages,  or 
blind  sacs  opening  into  the  alimentary  canal ; 
the  form  of  the  preopercle  or  anterior  gill  cover; 
width  and  strength  of  the  maxillary  or  upper 
jaw ;  size  of  teeth  and  their  arrangement  and 
permanence  on  the  vomer  —  the  bone  on  the 
roof  of  the  mouth ;  the  development  or  absence 
of  teeth  on  the  hyoid  bone  at  the  base  of  the 
tongue;  size  and  number  of  scales,  as  above 
stated ;  development  of  the  pectoral  and  caudal 
fins ;  the  number  of  gill-rakers,  a  series  of  bony 
appendages  along  the  inner  edge  of  the  gill 


2o8  The  Trouts  of  America 

arch ;  and  the  rays  and  pines  in  the  formation 
of  the  fins. 

It  may  be  well  before  going  farther  to  warn  the 
layman-naturalist  and  angler  against  the  common 
use  of  the  phrase  "  salmon-trout."  In  every 
section  of  the  country,  on  the  Pacific  Slope  as 
well  as  on  the  Atlantic,  whenever  a  big  steelhead, 
cut-throat,  rainbow,  or  any  other  trout,  sea-run  or 
otherwise,  of  unusual  size  is  taken,  it  is  baptized 
at  once  a  "  salmon-trout,"  without  designation  of 
species ;  and  the  same  popular  name  is  given  in 
the  Middle  West  and  East  to  the  Great  Lake  trout 
or  togue,  which  is  purely  a  coarse  charr-trout. 
Popular  and  local  nomenclature  is  becoming  more 
mixed  and  confusing  with  each  fishing  season,  and 
before  many  more  pass  away,  our  legislators  will 
be  obliged  to  use  the  technical  scientific  names  of 
fishes  that  they  may  be  identified  for  protection 
under  the  law. 

That  the  layman-angler  may  have  a  still  clearer 
perception  of  the  present  classification  of  the  black- 
spotted  or  cut-throat  series  of  salmon-trouts,  I 
quote  Jordan  and  Evermann,  the  editors  of  "  The 
Fishes  of  North  and  Middle  America,"  published 
by  authority  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution :  — 

"  It  is  not  unlikely  that  when  the  waters  of  the 


Classification  209 

Northern  Hemisphere  are  fully  explored,  it  will 
be  found  that  all  the  black-spotted  trout  of  Amer- 
ica, Europe,  and  Asia  are  forms  of  one  species, 
for  which  the  oldest  name  is  Salmo  trutta  "  (the 
sea-trout  of  Europe  and  Asia). 


CHAPTER    II 

THE  SALMON-TROUTS  —  THE  CUT-THROAT  SERIES 
—POPULAR  AND  TECHNICAL  NAMES  — SOMKA  OR 
MYKISS  TROUT  OF  KAMCHATKA— COLUMBIA  RIVER 
TROUT  — ROCKY  MOUNTAIN  OR  CUT-THROAT 
TROUT  —  YELLOWSTONE  RIVER  TROUT  —  TROUT 
OF  IDAHO  AND  WASHINGTON  —  RIO  GRANDE 
TROUT 

EXCLUDING  the  German  or  brown  trout,  the  sea- 
trout  of  Europe  and  the  Loch  Leven  form  from 
Scotland,  all  of  which  except  the  sea-trout  have 
been  very  generally  introduced  into  American 
waters,  our  indigenous  salmon-trouts  are  named 
and  classed  as  follows :  — 

The  Cut-throat  or  Columbia  River  trout,  — 

Salmo  clarkii  (Richards). 

The  Yellowstone  trout,  —  Salmo  clarkii  lewisi  (Girard). 
The  varietal  form   from  Idaho   and  Washington  (no  popular 

name),  —  Salmo  clarkii gibbsii  (Buckley). 
The  Lake  Tahoe,  Truckee,  or  "  pogy  "  trout,  — 

Salmo  clarkii  henshawi  (Gill  &  Jordan). 
The  Silver  trout  of  Lake  Tahoe,  —  Salmo  clarkii  tahocnsis. 
The  trout  of  Utah  Lake,  —  Salmo  clarkii  virginalis  (Girard). 
The  Rio  Grande  trout,  —  Salmo  clarkii  spilurus  (Cope). 

210 


Popular  and  Technical  Names        in 

The  Colorado  River  trout,  —  Salmo  clarkii pleuriticus  (Cope). 
The  Waha  Lake  trout,  —  Salmo  clarkii  bouvieri  (Bendire). 
The  Green-back  trout,  —  Salmo  clarkii  stomias  (Cope). 
The  Yellow-fin  trout,  — 

Salmo  clarkii  macdonaldi  (Jordan  &  Evermann). 
The  Salmon  trout  of  Lake  Sutherland,  Wash.,  — 

Salmo  clarkii  declivifrons  (Meek) . 
The  Spotted  trout  of  Lake  Sutherland,  Wash.,  — 

Salmo  clarkii jordana  (Meek). 
(All  the  above  are  varietal  forms  of  the  cut-throat  series.) 

The   different   forms   of  the   steelhead   series 
are:  — 
The  typical  Steelhead  or  hardhead  trout,  — 

Salmo  gairdneri  (Richardson) . 
(Called  "  Salmon-trout "  on  the  Pacific  Coast.) 
The  Kamloops  or  stit-tse  trout,  — 

Salmo  gairdneri  kamloops  (Jordan) . 
The  Blue-back  trout  of  Lake  Crescent,  Wash.,  — 

Salmo  gairdneri  beardsleei  (Jordan  &  Scale). 
The  Speckled  trout  of  Lake  Crescent,  — 

Salmo  gairdneri  crescentis  (Jordan  &  Beardslee). 

The  varieties  of  the  rainbow  are :  — 

The  Rainbow  trout  or  Coast  Range  trout,  — 

Salmo  irideus  (Gibbons). 
The  Brook  trout  of  western  Oregon,  — 

Salmo  irideus  masoni  (Suckley). 
The  McCloud  River  (Cal.)  trout,  — 

Salmo  irideus  shasta  (Jordan). 
The  Kern  River  (Cal.)  trout,  —  Salmo  irideus  gilberti  (Jordan). 


2i2  Tbe  Trouts  of  America 

The  Nissuee  or  no-shee  trout,  —  Salmo  irideus  stonei  (Jordan). 
The  Golden  trout  of  Mt.  Whitney,  — 

Salmo  irideus  agua  bonita  (Jordan). 
The  Long-headed  trout  of  Lake  Crescent,  Wash.,  — 

Salmo  bathcecetor  (Meek). 

From  this  list  it  will  be  seen  that  we  have 
twenty-four  forms  of  salmon-trouts  in  the  waters 
of  North  America,  to  which  should  be  added  three 
imported  species,  —  the  brown  or  German  trout, 
Salmo  fario,  the  Lock  Leven  trout,  Salmo  leve- 
nensis,  and  the  European  sea-trout,  Salmo  trutta; 
the  latter  has  been  recently  introduced,  but  not  to 
a  great  extent. 

A  few  years  ago  the  above  forms  of  the  cut- 
throat were  all  known  as  Salmo  my  kiss,  with  vari- 
ous subspecific  names,  and  credit  assigned  to 
Walbaum,  as  the  first  ichthyologist  who  classified 
and  named  them ;  but  it  has  been  found  that  the 
true  mykiss  (a  vernacular  name,  also  called  by  the 
natives  "somka"  and  "salmon-trout")  is  confined 
to  the  waters  of  Kamchatka,  where  it  is  said  that 
it  differs  from  our  native  cut-throat  by  the  ab- 
sence of  red  slashes  on  the  throat  latch,  and 
by  the  small  number  of  black  spots  sparsely 
distributed  on  the  body  and  fins.  It  is  evi- 
dently closely  allied  to  the  Atlantic  sea-salmon, 


HIS   FIRST  TROUT 


Cut- Throat  Trout  213 

and,  except  for  the  mouth  being  slightly  larger, 
differs  from  it  only  in  very  few,  if  in  any,  other 
characteristics. 

It  is  my  purpose,  so  far  as  I  may  be  able,  in 
these  monographs  of  American  trouts  and  charrs, 
to  give  brief  life  histories  of  each  fish,  with  their 
markings  and  coloration  sufficiently  individualized 
that  the  angler,  with  these  notes  at  hand,  will  be 
able  to  distinguish  on  sight  the  species  of  fish  he 
has  netted.  With  this  object  in  view  I  have 
avoided,  so  far  as  possible,  the  technical  phraseol- 
ogy which  renders  works  on  ichthyology  uninter- 
esting and  often  unintelligible  to  the  average 
reader  of  books  on  fish  and  fishing. 

The  typical  American  cut-throat,  or  Columbia 
River  trout  (Salmo  clarkii},  ranges  in  the  coast- 
wise streams  of  Puget  Sound  south  to  Elk  River, 
Humboldt  County,  California,  and  its  various 
forms  eastward  to  the  head  waters  of  the  Rio 
Grande  and  the  Utah  Basin.  I  have  taken  a 
subspecies  in  the  Upper  Missouri,  and  others  are 
reported  as  found  in  the  highest  sources  of  the 
Kansas  River ;  another  form  is  said  to  be  in  the 
mountain  streams  of  Mexico,  and,  as  before  stated, 
the  parent  fish  are  believed  to  have  originally 
migrated  from  Asian  waters.  No  true  cut-throat, 


214  The  Trouts  of  America 

however,  has   as   yet   been   found   in    American 
streams  north  of  Wrangel,  Alaska. 

The  Columbia  River  trout  has  a  moderate- 
sized  mouth,  the  upper  jaw  not  reaching  posteri- 
orly far  beyond  the  eyes,  and  the  body,  as  a  rule, 
is  long,  somewhat  compressed,  and  the  head  is 
rather  short.  The  length  of  the  body  is  usually 
four  times  its  breadth,  and  the  head  (from  the 
snout  to  posterior  gill  cover)  is  about  as  long  as 
the  depth  of  the  fish.  The  scales  are  small,  and 
there  are  about  ten  rays  in  the  first  dorsal,  or  back 
fin,  and  the  same  number  in  the  anal  fin  on  the 
posterior  part  of  the  belly.  The  red  slash  on  the 
throat  is  said  to  be  always  distinct,  and  there  are 
numerous  round  black  spots  on  the  back  of  vari- 
ous sizes  which  often  extend  to  the  belly.  While 
the  cut-throat  is  said  always  to  have  the  crimson 
or  deep  red  blotch  on  the  lower  inner  edge  of  the 
mandibles  (lower  jaws),  the  general  coloration  is 
extremely  variable.  The  ichthyic  authorities 
state  that  only  the  male  of  this  species  has  a  red- 
dish lateral  band  and  patches  of  light  red  on  the 
body.  If  this  be  so,  I  had  an  unique  experi- 
ence among  them  in  the  Upper  Spokane  River, 
Washington.  I  fished  an  entire  morning  and 
caught  a  large  number  of  these  fish,  a  specimen 


Cut- Throat  Trout  215 

of  which  was  at  once  sent  to  Washington,  D.C., 
for  identification,  where  it  was  pronounced  to  be 
the  cut-throat  trout  (Salmo  purpiiratus  was  its 
technical  name  at  that  time,  more  than  ten  years 
ago).  Every  fish  taken  on  my  rod  was  exactly 
alike  in  form  and  coloration,  and  each  had  the 
broad  crimson  band  along  the  lateral  line. 
Doubtless,  the  Spokane  River  has  become  de- 
populated of  these  fishes,  for  apparently  there 
were  no  female  cut-throats  in  it  to  continue  the 
species,  as  my  companion's  rod  and  my  own  cap- 
tured not  less  than  three  or  four  score  of  these 
trout,  and,  according  to  the  authorities,  there  was 
not  a  single  representative  of  the  gentle  sex 
among  them.  A  somewhat  similar  experience 
occurred  on  one  of  my  Western  outings  on  the 
Bitter  Root  River  in  Montana. 

The  habits  of  the  cut-throat  trout  are  similar  to 
those  of  his  Eastern  brother,  the  red-spotted  trout 
(fontinalis) .  Wherever  a  pool  existed,  created  by 
an  offshoot  from  the  main  stream,  wherein  a  shelv- 
ing rock  or  overhanging  trees  formed  a  sheltering 
or  shady  nook,  we  always  found  a  single  cut-throat 
of  good  size,  sovereign  of  the  domain  from  which 
he  had  driven  the  grayling  and  the  whitefish.  la 
the  larger  pools,  caused  by  the  subsidence  of  the 


216  The  Trout s  of  America 

current  in  deeper  water,  he  appeared  to  live  in 
harmony  with  these  fish.  The  Montana  grayling 
and  the  cut-throat  do  not  war  upon  each  other; 
the  red-spotted  trout  of  Michigan  and  the  gray- 
ling are  antagonistic,  and  the  latter  fish  is  gradu- 
ally becoming  extinct,  the  most  probable  cause 
being  that  the  grayling  spawn  in  the  spring,  and 
the  trout,  spawning  in  the  fall  and  having  recu- 
perated from  its  debilitating  effects,  and  huge  in 
appetite  after  a  winter's  hibernation,  devastate  the 
spawning  beds  of  the  grayling;  for  no  lure  or  food 
is  so  attractive  to  the  salmon  family  as  their  own 
ova.  On  the  other  hand,  the  grayling  of  England 
(Thymallus  vulgaris),  when  living  in  the  same 
water  with  the  brown  or  German  trout,  a  robust 
fish  growing  to  a  large  size,  gets  the  upper  hand, 
and  the  trout  decrease  in  numbers  and  somewhat 
in  quality.  In  Montana  waters  the  river  whitefish, 
as  well  as  the  trout  and  grayling,  apparently  live 
in  amity,  and  all  thrive  apace. 

Wherever  the  cut-throat  lives  in  the  lower 
waters  of  streams  or  coastwise  ponds  or  lakes, 
with  access  to  salt  water,  he  may  be  found  also  in 
the  bays  and  tributaries,  and  doubtless  ranges  sea- 
ward as  far  as  the  salmon.  Under  this  condition, 
a  silvery  coating  is  assumed  and  the  black  spots, 


Cut- Throat  Trout  217 

with  which  the  body  is  more  or  less  dotted  when 
in  fluvial  or  lacustrine  waters,  disappear,  leaving 
but  few  traces  of  his  fresh-water  garb.  When 
taken  in  salt  water  it  is  found  to  be  of  increased 
size,  upwards  of  twenty-five  pounds,  and  is  gen- 
erally called  by  marketmen  and  anglers  "the 
salmon-trout,"  which  causes  greater  difficulty  in 
an  intelligent  appreciation  of  the  technical  differ- 
ences of  the  charr-trout  and  the  salmon-trout. 
The  numerous  local  and  variant  names  for  the 
same  species  of  fish  in  different  waters  presents 
the  greatest  bar  to  the  increase  of  popular  knowl- 
edge of  the  fish  fauna  of  American  waters. 

The  cut-throat  is  an  omnivorous  feeder,  but, 
like  all  species  of  the  same  family,  is  cleanly  in  his 
choice  of  food  —  he  does  not  touch  carrion  of  any 
description.  Minnows,  insects,  worms  of  all  kinds, 
grasshoppers,  fresh  meat,  and  above  all  the  arti- 
ficial fly,  when  properly  and  skilfully  manipulated, 
is  most  attractive ;  for  he  is  at  all  times,  when  the 
water  is  clear,  a  surface  feeder,  but  is  not  particu- 
lar as  to  coloration  or  form  of  the  feathered  lure 
presented  to  him.  The  angling  tourist  visiting 
the  native  waters  of  this  fish,  to  be  assured  of 
success  among  the  cut-throats,  need  only  stock 
his  fly  book  with  the  standard  flies  used  in  luring 


2i 8  Tbe  Trouts  of  America 

the  Eastern  brook  trout.  If  he  visits  the  Yellow- 
stone or  any  of  the  large  rivers  containing  this 
fish,  it  would  be  well,  however,  to  have  a  fly  rod 
of  not  less  than  seven  or  eight  ounces,  as  the  fish 
in  such  waters  frequently  attain  a  weight  of  six 
and  seven  pounds ;  the  water  gear  used  in  the  East 
for  trout  will  answer  every  purpose  on  a  cut-throat 
outing ;  at  least  such  has  been  my  experience. 

This  trout  is  not,  I  think,  as  game  as  either  the 
red-spotted  trout  of  the  East,  the  rainbow,  or  the 
grayling,  nor  is  it  as  choice  a  table  fish  as  fonti- 
nalis.  True,  it  is  as  muscular  in  its  fight  for 
freedom  from  the  hook  as  the  first-named  fish, 
but  its  struggles  are  more  brief,  and  unlike  the 
rainbow  and  the  grayling,  it  does  not  leap  from 
the  water  on  a  slack  line  —  a  true  test  of  the  in- 
telligence of  a  fish  in  its  resources  for  escape. 

The  cut-throat  spawns  in  the  spring,  sometimes 
as  early  as  March,  but  usually  in  May  and  June. 
The  nest  is  guarded  by  the  male  until  the  eggs  are 
all  deposited,  which  are  then  left  on  the  bed,  sub- 
ject to  the  ravages  of  other  fish,  the  batrachians, 
and  larger  water-beetles,  which  together  destroy 
not  less  than  ninety  per  cent  of  the  eggs.  Happily, 
the  United  States  Fish  Commission  and  those  of 
many  of  the  states  have  established  hatcheries, 


Yellowstone  Trout  219 

from  which  the  cut-throat  is  being  distributed  in 
the  West  and  very  generally  in  the  Eastern  states, 
particularly  in  New  England,  where  they  find  a 
favorable  habitat  and  are  increasing  in  numbers 
and  game  qualities  —  a  not  unusual  result  among 
transplanted  fish.  When  their  new  environment 
is  adapted  for  them,  they  often,  especially  the 
brown  trout  and  the  rainbow,  increase  in  average 
weight  and  develop  traits  of  gameness  they  did 
not  possess  in  their  home  waters. 

There  is  another  peculiar  condition  under 
which  the  cut-throat  lives  and  thrives,  that 
requires  attention  in  this  brief  monograph  of 
the  fish.  It  has  been  reported  from  time  to 
time  that  the  angler  could  catch  in  the  waters 
of  the  Yellowstone  Park  a  trout  from  one  pond, 
and  by  a  mere  swing  of  the  rod  cook  the  fish 
in  the  boiling  water  of  an  adjacent  one,  without 
unhooking  his  quarry.  It  has  been  discovered 
through  the  work  of  the  United  States  Fish  Com- 
mission and  the  researches  of  Dr.  Jordan,  that  the 
waters  of  the  geysers  and  other  calcareous  and 
silicious  springs  do  not  appear  to  be  objectionable 
to  fishes.  In  the  Yellowstone  Lake  trout  are 
especially  abundant  about  the  hot  overflow  from 
the  Lake  Geyser  Basin.  The  hot  water  flows 


220  Tbe  Trouts  of  America 

for  a  time  on  the  surface,  and  trout  may  be 
taken  immediately  under  these  currents,  and 
they  have  also  been  known  to  rise  to  a  fly 
through  a  hot  scalding  surface.  They  also 
linger  in  the  neighborhood  of  hot  springs  in 
the  bottom  of  the  lake.  This  is  probably  owing 
to  the  abundance  of  food  in  these  waters,  but 
the  fact  is  evident  that  geyser  water  does  not 
kill  trout.  The  Hot  River  which  drains  the 
Mammoth  Hot  Springs  flows  into  Gardner 
River.  Trout  abound  at  the  mouth  of  this 
stream,  and  here,  as  in  numerous  other  places 
in  the  Park,  the  much-reported  practice  of  catch- 
ing a  trout  in  cold  and  scalding  it  in  hot  water 
is  possible.  These  trout,  however,  are  almost 
invariably  infested  with  parasitic  worms,  some 
of  them  longer  than  the  fish,  causing  it  to 
become  leaner  and  flatter  than  the  healthy  ones, 
and  the  sides  and  belly  to  show  ridges  and 
lumps.  The  flesh,  also,  is  redder  in  the  dis- 
eased fish,  and  the  external  color  is  likely  to  be 
dusky  or  brassy. 

As  will  be  seen  in  the  schedule  previously 
given,  there  are  thirteen  subspecies  or  varietal 
forms  of  the  cut-throats  (clarkii\  Taking  these 
up  seriatim,  we  reach  first  the  trout  of  the  Yel- 


Yellowstone  Trout  221 

lowstone  River  (Salmo  clarkii  lewisi).  This  sub- 
species presents  no  marked  differentiation  from 
the  type  of  the  species  above  described,  except 
that  its  body  is  somewhat  more  robust,  with  fewer 
spots  on  the  belly :  the  red  throat  mark  is  always 
present  and  the  scales  are  small.  This  fish  is 
very  abundant  in  the  Yellowstone  and  its  upper 
tributaries,  and  the  river  adjacent  to  and  for 
miles  above  Livingstone,  Montana,  is  a  typical 
trout  water,  reminding  the  angler  on  Eastern 
streams  of  the  broad  reaches,  pools,  and  "  swims  " 
of  the  Lower  Beaverkill,  Willowemoc,  and  Never- 
sink  trout  rivers  of  Sullivan  County,  New  York. 
The  pools  of  the  Yellowstone  are  not  wadable,  as 
a  rule,  but  every  inch  of  them  can  be  reached  and 
threaded  with  the  flies  from  the  outlying  shores 
and  shallows;  and  the  trout  are  found  often  in 
the  rapids,  but  more  frequently  at  the  foot  of 
them,  waiting  for  drifting  and  drowning  insects 
or  surface-washed  food  of  a  more  substantial 
character.  The  angler  has  ample  room  for  his 
back  cast,  and  there  are  no  overhanging  branches 
to  hold  his  feathers  in  mid-air.  This  fish  takes 
the  fly  viciously,  but  contents  itself  with  deep  and 
long  surges  in  its  efforts  to  escape  the  hook. 
There  is  another  form  of  cut-throat  which  owns 


222  The  Trouts  of  America 

no  popular  name.  It  is  evidently  sui  generis,  and 
has  increased  the  difficulty  of  exact  classification 
in  this  conglomerate  series  of  fishes,  for  it  has  no 
red  on  its  lower  jaw,  or  teeth  on  the  root  of  its 
tongue.  It  is  technically  known  as  Salmo  clarkii 
gibbsii,  and  its  habitat  is  in  the  tributaries  of  the 
Columbia  River  between  Shoshone  Falls  and  the 
Cascade  Range ;  and  it  has  been  also  taken  from 
the  Des  Chutes  and  other  rivers,  also  by  Dr. 
Evermann  from  Big  Payette  Lake,  Idaho.  It 
is  also  found  in  Wood  River,  near  Ketchum, 
Idaho,  where  my  rod  certainly  landed  several 
specimens  previously  referred  to  as  trout  non- 
descripts. But  if  they  are  nameless  wanderers 
in  Western  waters,  they  are  the  peers  in  game 
qualities  of  any  of  the  trouts  of  that  region. 
They  fight  harder  and  longer  when  hooked  than 
any  other  species  of  the  cut-throats  for  which  I 
cast  the  flies. 

The  Rio  Grande  trout  (Salmo  clarkii  spilurus] 
is  more  familiar  to  the  anglers  of  the  Middle 
West,  particularly  those  resident  in  Colorado, 
with  the  exception  of  the  Colorado  River  trout 
(pleuriticus),  than  any  other  species  of  the  cut- 
throats, for  spilurus  appears  in  great  numbers 
in  the  Upper  Rio  Grande,  and  is  abundant  in  all 


Colorado  Trout  223 

the  mountain  streams  of  the  state,  ranging  in 
habitat  southward  as  far  as  the  mountains  of 
Chihuahua  in  Mexico.  Its  physical  characteris- 
tics are  pronounced:  the  body  is  four  times 
longer  than  its  depth ;  the  head  three  and  a 
half  times  shorter  than  the  length  of  the  body  — 
and  it  is  heavy  but  short,  the  upper  surface 
being  considerably  concaved  or  decurved ;  it  has 
a  large  mouth,  the  upper  jaw  reaching  backward 
beyond  the  eye,  and  the  teeth  on  the  roof  of  the 
mouth  are  in  two  series.  The  first  dorsal  fin  is 
short  in  front,  and  the  rear  rays  are  long  and 
high,  the  last  being  nearly  two-thirds  the  height 
of  the  first  one ;  similar  proportions  exist  in  the 
anal  fin,  the  last  ray  being  longer  than  the 
others.  This  fish  has  numerous  round  spots  on 
the  back,  sides,  and  on  the  tail  and  fatty  fins ;  on 
the  body  they  are  more  profuse  on  or  near  the 
fleshy  part  of  the  tail  (peduncle).  It  grows  to  a 
length  of  about  thirty  inches  and  is  apparently 
identical  with  the  Colorado  River  trout  (Salmo 
clarkii  pleuriticus}.  It  differs,  however,  from 
that  fish  in  that  the  scales  are  less  crowded  on 
the  anterior  part  of  the  body  and  are  longer. 
Its  technical  subspecific  name  is  derived  from 
two  Greek  words  signifying  "  spotted  tail." 


224  Tbe  Trouts  of  America 

The  Rio  Grande  trout  is  an  exceptional  game 
fish  and  a  choice  feeder ;  it  takes  the  artificial  fly 
greedily  and  fights  hard  under  restraint,  and  in 
the  opinion  of  a  resident  angler  "  is  the  best  fish 
that  swims  in  any  waters  of  the  earth  and  is  only 
found  in  the  cool  and  sparkling  streams  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains."  We  question  if  this  ardent 
Waltonian  has  ever  killed  on  a  light  rod  the  acro- 
batic rainbow,  or  the  frisky  "  lady  of  the  waters," 
the  Michigan  grayling ;  but  be  this  as  it  may,  the 
Rio  Grande  trout  is  one  of  the  most  game  of  the 
cut-throat  series,  and  best  of  all,  is  not  finicky  in 
the  matter  of  form  and  coloration  of  the  feathers 
presented  to  him. 


CHAPTER   III 

SALMON-TROUTS  CONTINUED  — COLORADO  RIVER 
TROUT  —  WAHA  LAKE  TROUT  —  GREENBACK 
TROUT  — YELLOW-FIN  TROUT  — LAKE  TAHOE  OR 
TRUCKEE  TROUT  — TROUT  OF  LAKE  WEBBER  — 
UTAH  LAKE  TROUT  — SALMON  TROUT  OF  LAKE 
SUTHERLAND  — SPOTTED  TROUT  OF  LAKE  SUTHER- 
LAND—LONG-HEADED TROUT  OF  LAKE  CRESCENT. 

WHILE  there  are  no  great  differences  in  physi- 
cal characteristics  between  the  Rio  Grande  and 
the  Colorado  River  trouts,  the  latter  appears  to 
have  attracted  the  attention  of  the  anglers  of 
that  section  to  a  greater  extent.  He  is  the  ob- 
jective of  nearly  all  their  outings,  and  his  game 
qualities  have  been  heralded  in  every  sports- 
man's journal  throughout  the  country.  This 
trout  is  large,  handsome,  and  extremely  variable 
in  coloration,  with  a  red  lateral  band  nearly 
always  existent.  In  some  instances  the  body  is 
profusely  spotted,  occasionally  with  large  spots, 
which  are  more  numerous  posteriorly,  the  head 
being  almost  entirely  free  from  them ;  the  lower 
fins  are  generally  red,  occasionally  orange,  and 

Q  225 


226  Tbe  Trouts  of  America 

the  scales  are  small.  It  is  abundant  throughout 
western  Colorado,  and  southward  as  far  as  the 
clear  mountain  streams  of  Arizona,  and  speci- 
mens have  been  taken  from  still  farther  south- 
ern waters  that  are  similar  to  those  found  in 
the  Eagle  and  Gunnison  rivers  of  Colorado. 
The  technical  name  of  the  fish  is  Salmo  clarkii 
pleuriticus,  the  subspecific  being  from  a  Greek 
word  meaning  "side,"  in  allusion  to  the  red 
lateral  band. 

The  waters  of  Colorado  are  particularly  adapted 
to  trout  and  their  lustiness  of  habit  and  increase. 
Dr.  David  S.  Jordan,  now  president  of  the  Le- 
land  Stanford  Jr.  University  in  California,  was 
deputed  in  1889,  by  the  United  States  Fish 
Commissioner,  to  ascertain  the  general  charac- 
ter of  the  streams  of  Colorado  and  their  adapt- 
ability for  the  introduction  of  fish  not  found 
there.  In  his  elaborate  report  Dr.  Jordan  thus 
writes  of  the  waters  of  the  state:  — 

"  Most  of  the  streams  of  Colorado  rise  in 
springs  in  or  above  the  mountain  meadows, 
many  of  them  having  their  origin  in  banks  of 
snow,  which  the  clear  weather  of  summer  is  not 
sufficient  wholly  to  melt.  These  streams  are 
clear  and  very  cold.  In  their  descent  from  the 


THE  OQUASSA.  OR  BLUEBACK  TROUT 

Salvelinus  oquassa 


THE   SUNAPEE   TROUT,    OR    GOLDEN   SAIBLING 

Salvelinus  alpinus  aureolus 


THE   GERMAN,    OR    BROWN   TROUT 
Salmo  fario 


Colorado  River  Trout  227 

snow  banks,  they  are  brawling  and  turbulent, 
often  so  much  so  as  to  be  unfit  for  fish  life. 
In  their  course  through  the  mountain  meadows 
(very  similar  to  the  *  Alp  pastures '  of  Switzer- 
land) the  streams  are  usually  of  gentle  current, 
with  many  windings  and  with  occasional  deep 
holes  beloved  of  trout.  Lower  down  most  of 
them  pass  to  the  valleys  through  deep  canons, 
some  of  them  very  deep  and  with  many  rapids." 

With  these  facts  before  us,  no  surprise  can 
arise  when  we  find  in  Colorado  at  least  two 
indigenous  varietal  forms  of  trout ;  and  when  it 
is  noted  that  the  land-locked  salmon,  the  rain- 
bow, and  the  Eastern  red-spotted  trouts  (fonti- 
nalis)  have  been  introduced  into  the  waters  of 
the  state,  the  last  two  species  named  thriving 
vigorously,  we  can  readily  appreciate  the  ardor 
of  pursuit  and  the  increase  of  membership  of 
the  craft  of  anglers  in  this  trout-gifted  state. 

The  Colorado  River  trout  grows  to  the  ex- 
ceptional weight  of  over  nine  pounds,  several 
specimens  of  that  size  having  been  caught  by 
Mr.  Partello  of  the  United  States  Army.  The 
average  weight,  however,  will  not  reach  more 
than  a  pound,  their  size  depending  upon  the 
area  of  the  water  from  which  they  are  taken. 


228  Tbe  Trout s  of  America 

Their  time  of  spawning  is  irregular;  nominally 
it  takes  place  in  the  spring,  but  frequently  gravid 
females  are  found  in  the  early  days  of  August, 
although  a  large  majority  are  through  spawning 
by  the  middle  of  June. 

This  trout  is  an  omnivorous  feeder,  taking 
indiscriminately  whatever  is  thrown  to  him,  — 
chunks  of  meat,  grasshoppers,  worms,  white 
grubs,  and  minnows,  —  but  he  has  a  weakness  for 
insects,  hence  takes  an  artificial  fly  with  avidity, 
particularly  the  Coachman,  Black  Hackle  with  a 
peacock  body,  the  June  Spinner,  and  the  Black 
Prince.  They  take  these  imitations  eagerly  in 
the  rifts,  which  they  seem  to  prefer  when  feed- 
ing to  the  pools  or  deeper  currents ;  July  is 
the  best  month  for  fishing  in  all  the  waters  of 
the  state,  from  which  a  number  of  these  fish 
have  been  taken  by  the  United  States  Fish 
Commission  to  the  hatchery  at  Wytheville,  Vir- 
ginia, for  the  purpose  of  stocking  Eastern  streams. 

The  Waha  Lake  trout  (Salmo  clarkii  bouvieri] 
was  first  discovered  by  Captain  Bendire,  U.S.A.,  in 
Waha  Lake,  a  small  mountain  pond,  land-locked, 
in  the  state  of  Washington,  to  which  it  seems  to 
be  confined,  as  it  has  not  been  found  in  any  other 
waters.  It  is  singularly  colored,  with  dark  spots 


Waba  Lake  Trout 

only  on  the  back  fins,  and  on  the  tail,  upon  which 
fin  they  are  very  profuse  and  small.  The  head  is 
shorter  and  deeper,  and  the  snout  shorter  and 
blunter,  than  those  of  other  forms  of  the  cut-throat 
trouts,  and  the  tail  fin  is  moderately  forked;  The 
anterior  portion  of  the  body  is  dusky  bluish,  not 
silvery,  and  there  is  a  red  blotch,  very  conspicu- 
ous, on  the  inner  edges  of  the  dentary  bones. 
The  habitat  of  this  fish  being  restricted  and  se- 
cluded, but  little  is  known  of  its  angling  qualities, 
yet  like  all  other  members  of  the  genus,  it  will 
doubtless  take  the  usual  trout  lures  if  presented 
to  them  properly. 

The  cut-throats  are  represented  in  the  Upper 
Arkansas  and  South  Platte  rivers  by  the  green- 
back trout  (Salmo  clarkii  stomias,  the  subspecific 
title  being  from  the  Greek,  signifying  "big- 
mouthed  ").  It  is  abundant  in  the  waters  named, 
and  in  brooks  and  shallow  places  in  lakes,  but 
seldom,  if  ever,  reaching  the  weight  of  a  pound. 
It  is  closely  allied  to  the  other  forms  of  clarkii, 
but  the  black  spots  are  much  larger,  and  are 
mainly  located  on  the  posterior  part  of  the  body ; 
the  head  is  broad  and  flat.  Its  flesh  is  deep  red, 
and  the  general  external  coloration  is  deep  green 
with  a  reddish  tinge,  sometimes  extending  on  the 


230  The  Trouts  of  America 

sides.  The  subspecific  name  seems  to  be  a  mis- 
nomer, as  the  mouth  of  the  fish  is  small,  not  large, 
as  indicated  in  the  Greek  word.  We  know  but 
little  of  this  fish,  its  game  qualities  not  having 
been  described,  nor  does  it  appear  that  Wai  tom- 
ans seek  for  it  or  take  any  interest  in  its  habits 
or  fighting  qualities.  Dr.  Jordan,  however,  who 
made  a  study  of  the  habits  of  stomias,  writes :  — 

"  It  seldom  exceeds  three-quarters  of  a  pound 
in  weight,  and  is  very  common  in  the  upper  tribu- 
taries of  the  Arkansas  River,  and  in  Twin  Lakes. 
It  spawns  in  spring,  in  snow  water  if  possible,  and 
it  will  leave  spring  water  to  find  snow  water.  In 
winter,  however,  they  seek  for  warmer  waters.  It 
is  said  that  when  the  winter  breaks  up,  these  trout 
are  too  blind  to  see  bait.  In  color,  the  greenback 
is  green  or  even  almost  black  on  the  back.  The 
lower  fins  and  the  throat  are  bright  red,  but  there 
is  not  much  trace  of  the  red  lateral  band,  and  in 
some  cases  the  black  spots  are  ocellated  with 
paler.  At  spawning  time,  in  May  and  early  June, 
the  males  have  much  red,  but  later  on  the  sexes 
become  similar.  In  specimens  found  about  pools 
there  is  often  much  red  even  in  summer." 

The  yellow-fin  trout  (Salmo  clarkii  macdonaldi] 
is  supposed  to  be  a  varietal  form  of  the  Colorado 


Twin  Lakes  Trout  231 

River  trout  (pleuriticus)  or  descended  from  it.  It 
certainly  possesses  many  physical  characteristics 
of  that  fish;  the  scales  are  about  the  same  size, 
and  the  fin  rays  nearly  alike  in  number,  but  the 
head  and  the  gill  covers  are  longer,  and  the  two 
fishes  vary  greatly  in  coloration,  that  of  the  yel- 
low-fin being  a  light  olive  with  a  broad  shade  of 
lemon-yellow  along  the  sides,  with  no  red  on  any 
part  of  the  body  except  the  crimson  slash  on  the 
throat.  On  the  posterior  part  of  the  body,  and  on 
the  dorsal  and  tail  fins,  there  is  a  profusion  of 
small  black  dots  giving  the  fish  the  appearance 
of  having  been  strewn  with  the  contents  of  a 
pepper  castor;  on  the  head  and  anterior  parts  of 
the  body  few  or  none  of  these  spots  are  present. 
This  is  a  large,  handsome  fish,  growing  to  a 
weight  of  nine  pounds  (one  specimen  of  thirteen 
pounds  has  been  reported),  and  is  abundant  in 
Twin  Lakes,  Colorado,  but  is  never  found  in 
streams.  It  delights  to  bask  in  the  sun  on  the 
shallow  gravel  beds,  and  is  seldom  caught  in  the 
deeper  water.  They  feed  largely  upon  the  young 
suckers  which  are  numerous  in  the  lake,  and  the 
suckers  in  turn  destroy  large  quantities  of  the 
spawn  of  the  yellow-fins.  The  flesh  of  this  trout 
is  paler  than  that  in  other  forms  and  somewhat 


23 2  The  Trouts  of  America 

watery,  hence  it  is  not  as  good  a  table  fish  as  its 
congeners  of  Colorado  waters.  Before  they  mate 
for  spawning  they  take  a  trolling  spoon  or  artifi- 
cial fly  very  freely,  as  well  as  other  lures,  but  just 
before  spawning  and  during  that  period  they 
refuse  baits  of  any  description. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  of  this  series  of 
salmon-trouts  is  the  Lake  Tahoe,  Truckee,  or 
silver  trout  (Salmo  clarkii  tahoensis).  It  is  easier 
recognized  as  a  special  varietal  form  than  most  of 
the  other  subspecies  of  the  cut-throats,  as  the 
head  is  longer  and  more  cone-shaped,  and  the 
spots  are  more  individually  unequal  in  size  and 
arranged  differently.  Its  other  characteristic 
markings  are:  robustness  of  form,  and  greater 
depth  of  body  than  prevails  in  other  cut-throats  ; 
large  head;  small  eye;  teeth  on  the  roof  of  the 
mouth  in  two  long  series,  alternating  —  and  the 
teeth  on  the  root  of  the  tongue  are  distinct  in  a 
rather  long  series ;  large  mouth,  extending  be- 
yond the  eye ;  rounded  gill  covers ;  caudal  or  tail 
.fin  shaped  like  a  new  moon,  lunate,  having  a  broad 
and  rather  shallow  fork.  The  coloration  is  a 
dark  green  on  the  back,  belly  silvery,  with  a  broad 
coppery  shade  on  the  sides  and  on  the  cheeks 
and  gill  covers.  Instead  of  the  usual  red  or  crim- 


Lake  Taboe  Trout  233 

son  slashes  on  the  lower  jaw,  a  yellowish  hue  pre- 
vails, and  there  are  slightly  conspicuous  orange 
dashes  between  the  branches  of  the  mandible  or 
under  jaw.  The  fins  are  of  an  olive  color,  slightly 
reddish  at  or  near  the  base,  and  the  back  from 
the  snout  to  the  tail  is  profusely  covered  with 
large  black  spots  of  unequal  sizes;  those  on  the 
top  of  the  head  and  on  the  nape  are  large,  and  on 
the  posterior  part  of  the  body  run  together  form- 
ing oblong  blotches ;  on  the  side  of  the  head  and 
body  there  are  very  few  spots ;  the  anal  fin  (on 
the  belly  near  the  tail)  has  upon  it  numerous 
round  spots ;  the  dorsal  and  tail  fins  are  densely 
covered  with  oblong  spots,  smaller  than  those  on 
the  body;  the  second  dorsal  or  fatty  fin  is  also 
spotted.  This  fish  grows  to  a  weight  of  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  pounds,  and  spawns  in  the  depth 
of  the  lake. 

I  have  entered  more  into  detail  as  to  the  mark- 
ings of  this  fish,  than  when  describing  other 
forms  of  the  cut-throats,  because  it  is  probably 
sought  for  by  greater  numbers  of  anglers  than 
any  other  fish  of  the  Pacific  slope  waters.  Being 
reached  in  a  few  hours  from  San  Francisco,  the 
resident  anglers  of  that  city  make  Lake  Tahoe 
the  Mecca  of  their  outings,  and  no  visiting  angler 


234  Tbe  Trouts  of  America 

rounds  up  his  fishing  tour  unless  he  essays  these 
big  trout;  the  hotels  at  the  lake  are  crowded 
all  through  the  season,  for  the  fish  are  large 
and  numerous,  growing,  it  is  reported,  to  thirty 
pounds,  although  the  average  does  not  exceed 
two  pounds. 

There  is  another  form  of  the  Lake  Tahoe  cut- 
throat, known  technically  as  Salmo  clarkii  hen- 
shawi,  and  locally  as  the  "  pogy "  when  mature, 
and  as  the  "  snipe "  when  young.  It  seldom 
grows  larger  than  five  or  six  pounds,  and  spawns 
in  the  streams.  The  coloration  and  other  char- 
acteristics are  very  similar  to  those  of  the  large 
form ;  the  only  striking  differentiation  being  its 
smaller  size,  less  compressed  head,  and  diverse 
habits  of  spawning. 

The  method  of  fishing  for  Lake  Tahoe  trout 
is  somewhat  crude,  at  least  it  was  a  few  years 
ago;  but  perhaps  improvement  has  taken  place 
in  the  use  of  lighter  tackle,  particularly  in  the 
water  gear,  the  more  general  use  of  rods,  and 
the  discarding  of  handlines  and  heavy  sinkers, 
which  formed  the  favorite  tackle  for  the  cap- 
ture of  these  large  trout,  both  in  trolling  and  in 
still  fishing.  In  the  former  method  there  was 
generally  attached  to  the  outer  end  of  the  line  a 


Lake  Taboe  Trout  235 

large  spoon  which  was  cone-shaped,  having  two 
wings,  and  a  series  of  gangs  of  large  hooks,  entirely 
too  large,  as  a  rule ;  sometimes,  however,  a  single 
hook  or  an  eighteen-inch  snood  was  used  (the 
proper  thing).  The  handline  was  also  too  heavy 
and  coarse,  and  the  local  tackle  was  proven  to  be 
out  of  keeping  with  the  size  and  game  qualities 
of  the  fish,  from  the  fact  that  several  visiting 
anglers  have  had  more  pleasure  and  taken  as 
many  trout  with  comparatively  light  rods,  reels, 
and  small  spoons,  as  were  caught  by  the  guides 
and  local  anglers.  I  have  not  heard  that  these 
trout  will  rise  to  an  artificial  cast  of  flies,  their 
habitat  being  in  the  deep  water,  yet,  in  follow- 
ing their  tribal  instinct,  they  will  naturally  come 
into  relatively  shallow  water  preparatory  to 
spawning,  and  at  such  times,  if  the  law  is  open 
and  the  conscience  of  the  angler  permits,  they 
could  doubtless  be  lured  with  the  feathers. 

But  if  the  Lake  Tahoe  trout  taboo  the  fly,  there 
is  within  easy  carriage  distance  of  the  lake  a 
grand  water  (Webber  Lake)  for  the  fly  fisherman, 
where  the  trout  are  surface  feeders  and  great 
fighters.  It  is  closely  allied  to  the  Lake  Tahoe 
trout,  which  I  have  as  yet  failed  to  fish,  but  it 
is  difficult  to  believe  that  trout  should  so  radi- 


236  The  Trouts  of  America 

cally  alter  their  habits  as  to  become  habitual 
surface  feeders  when  the  type  of  the  species,  in- 
habiting waters  but  a  few  miles  distant,  seldom, 
if  ever,  come  to  the  top  of  the  water.  Instances 
have  been  known,  however,  when  these  individual 
traits  have  been  developed  in  trout,  but  the  lakes 
in  which  they  lived  were  often  widely  separated. 
I  am  rather  inclined  to  believe  that  the  trout 
of  Webber  Lake  are  an  entirely  different  sub- 
species. Be  this  theory  wrong  or  right,  the  fact 
remains  that  the  fish  of  Webber  Lake  rise  freely 
to  the  fly  and  fight  bravely,  and  the  angling  tour- 
ist visiting  Lake  Tahoe  should  not  fail  to  see 
the  sister  lake,  and  for  his  information  I  state 
that  the  Black  Hackle,  red-bodied  Brown  Hackles, 
and  rather  sombre-colored  wing  flies  are  the  most 
attractive.  Strange  to  note,  these  fish  which 
spawn  in  streams  do  not  rise  well  to  the  Coach- 
man or  any  other  flies  dressed  with  light  wings. 

The  Lake  Tahoe  trout  is  found  in  the  follow- 
ing-named lakes  and  rivers:  Lakes  Tahoe, 
Pyramid,  Webber,  Donner,  Independence,  and 
in  the  rivers  Truckee,  Humboldt,  Carson,  and  in 
most  of  the  streams  of  the  eastern  slope  of  the 
Sierra  Nevada.  They  also  inhabit  the  head 
waters  of  the  Feather  River,  west  of  the  Sierra 


Utah  Lake  Trout  237 

Nevada,  into  which  they  may  have  been   intro- 
duced. 

The  trout  of  Utah  Lake  (Salmo  clarkii  virgi- 
nalis,  subspecific  name  from  the  Latin,  "like  a 
virgin  ")  is  a  striking  illustration  of  the  adapta- 
bility of  fish  to  widely  different  chemical  condi- 
tions of  water.  This  trout  not  only  lives  in  an 
alkaline  lake,  but  thrives  there,  growing  to  a 
weight  of  twelve  or  more  pounds;  its  back  is 
covered  with  small  black  spots  from  head  to  the 
fleshy  part  of  the  tail,  where  they  are  not  so 
numerous,  and  the  scales  are  slightly  larger  than 
those  of  the  greenback  and  Rio  Grande  trouts. 
It  is  found  in  the  lakes  and  streams  in  the  Wa- 
satch  Range,  particularly  in  Bear,  Provo,  Jordan, 
and  Sevier  rivers  and  in  Utah  Lake.  On  the 
trout  of  the  last-named  waters  the  dark  spots  are 
few  and  small  and  are  located  almost  entirely 
on  the  back;  they  are  also  paler  in  color 
than  is  general  with  fish  of  the  same  species 
found  in  the  streams ;  but,  like  all  forms  of  the 
cut-throat  series,  different  colorations  may  be 
found  in  nearly  every  fish  examined.  The  Utah 
Lake  trout  is  said  to  be  a  good  fighter  on  the  rod, 
and  is  highly  prized  as  an  edible  fish  in  the  sec- 
tions of  its  habitat. 


238  The  Trouts  of  America 

Within  the  last  few  years  two  subspecies  of 
the  cut-throat  trouts  have  been  discovered  in 
Lake  Sutherland,  in  the  state  of  Washington; 
also  a  distinct  species  of  the  salmon-trouts  in 
Crescent  Lake  of  the  same  state.  As  neither  of 
these  fish  has  been  sought  or  taken  by  any  one 
except  an  occasional  angling  tourist,  and  by  their 
discoverer,  Professor  Meek,  an  intelligent,  practi- 
cal, and  diligent  ichthyologist,  whose  interest 
and  zeal  in  his  science  does  not  blunt  his  love 
of  angling,  I  am  dependent  upon  him  for  the 
annexed  notes  of  their  characteristics,  which  ere 
many  years  will  doubtless  become  as  familiar 
to  the  anglers  of  the  Pacific  slope  as  the  com- 
mon cut-throat  or  the  rainbow. 

The  salmon-trout  of  Lake  Sutherland  (Salmo 
clarkii  declivifrons)  resembles  very  much  the 
blueback  trout  of  Lake  Crescent,  described  on  a 
subsequent  page,  and  is  easily  recognized,  ac- 
cording to  the  authority  of  Professor  Elliot,  by 
the  sharply  curved  upper  outline  of  the  fore  part 
of  the  body,  by  the  dark  blue  patch  on  the  cheek, 
and  by  the  gape  of  the  mouth,  which  is  nearly 
horizontal,  more  so  than  in  any  other  trout. 
Professor  Meek  states  that  it  is  a  game  fish, 
"  takes  the  fly  and  leaps  out  of  the  water." 


Lake  Crescent  Trout  239 

The  other  cut-throat,  popularly  called  "the 
spotted  trout "  (Salmo  clarkii  jordana\  is  also 
found  in  Lake  Sutherland,  and  may  be  distin- 
guished from  its  congener  of  the  same  waters, 
the  salmon-trout,  by  the  orange  or  orange-red 
color  of  its  fins,  by  the  red  on  the  jaw,  and  "  the 
number  and  blackness  of  its  spots  and  the  darker 
back."  It  is  one  of  the  most  active  of  trouts, 
and  repeatedly  and  rapidly  leaps  after  taking 
the  fly. 

The  new  species  of  salmon-trout  found  in 
Lake  Crescent,  Washington  (Salmo  bathoecetor], 
can  be  distinguished  from  others  of  its  genus 
of  adjacent  habitat,  primarily  by  its  long  nose 
and  the  absence  of  the  red  slash  on  the  lower 
jaw.  It  is  also  more  slender,  and  the  dentition 
is  much  stronger  than  obtains  in  the  other  vari- 
etal forms  living  in  Lakes  Sutherland  and  Cres- 
cent. It  lives  in  deep  water,  in  some  places  over 
seven  hundred  feet,  and  does  not  come  to  the 
surface  at  any  season  of  the  year.  The  few 
that  have  been  caught  were  taken  on  set  lines 
within  a  foot  of  the  bottom  at  a  depth  of  about 
two  hundred  feet.  It  is  known  locally  as  "the 
long-headed  trout." 


CHAPTER    IV 

SALMON-TROUTS  CONTINUED  —  THE  STEELHEAD 
SERIES  —  TYPICAL  STEELHEAD  —  KAMLOOPS  TROUT 
—  BLUEBACK  TROUT  OF  LAKE  CRESCENT,  WASH- 
INGTON—SPECKLED TROUT  OF  LAKE  CRESCENT, 
WASHINGTON 

WE  now  reach  the  steelhead  series  of  salmon- 
trouts  of  which  there  are  one  species  and  three 
subspecific  forms,  the  type  being  commonly 
known  on  the  Pacific  slope  as  the  steelhead, 
hardhead,  and  salmon-trout,  and  scientifically  as 
Salmo  gairdneri.  It  is  a  large  sea-trout  growing 
to  weight  of  twenty  pounds  or  more,  and  is 
migratory  like  the  salmon,  ascending  rivers  to 
spawn  many  hundreds  of  miles  into  the  state 
of  Idaho  and  into  other  sections.  I  have 
taken  them  from  the  Snake  River  of  southern 
Idaho  weighing  three  to  five  pounds ;  in  those 
waters  they  spawn  in  the  early  spring,  and  are 
found  in  the  lower  parts  of  rivers  in  a  spent 
condition  when  the  usual  spring  run  of  the 
salmon  commences.  For  a  long  time  the  steel- 
head  and  the  rainbow  were,  owing  to  the  close 

240 


Steelbead  Trout  241 

intergradation  of  the  two  species,  considered  one 
and  the  same  fish ;  but  the  investigations  of  Dr. 
Gilbert  in  the  Lower  Columbia  River  convinced 
him  that  both  the  young  and  the  old  steelheads 
are  distinct  from  the  cut-throats  and  the  rainbows. 
It  is  proper  to  state,  however,  that  two  other  ich- 
thyologists have  placed  on  record  that  the  Colum- 
bia River  form  of  the  typical  steelhead  seems  to 
pass  into  the  rainbow  southward,  and  into  Kam- 
loops  northward,  while  in  the  Lower  Snake  River 
of  Idaho  it  appears  to  intergrade  with  the  cut- 
throats. With  these  confusing  data  before  them, 
we  are  not  surprised  at  the  hesitation  of  the 
scientist  to  permanently  determine  the  classifica- 
tion of  these  fishes,  nor  at  the  angling  layman 
halting  at  the  cross-roads  of  science. 

The  steelhead  trout  has  scales  relatively  large, 
near  the  size  of  those  on  the  Utah  Lake  trout,  but 
on  specimens  taken  from  the  Lower  Columbia 
the  scales  seem  to  be  more  or  less  small  and 
crowded.  The  body  is  relatively  stout,  but  not 
deep,  and  the  fleshy  part  of  the  tail  is  very  thick ; 
the  head  is  short,  rather  slender  and  smaller  in 
females,  while  the  jaws  in  the  males  are  some- 
what prolonged.  The  upper  jaw  is  narrow,  the 
small  eye  of  the  fish  being  located  above  and 


242  The  Trouts  of  America 

about  the  middle  of  it ;  the  teeth  are  small,  those 
on  the  roof  of  the  mouth  are  in  two  long,  alter- 
nating series ;  the  anterior  gill  cover  is  rather 
wide  and  the  others  moderate  in  size.  The  tail 
is  wide,  and  on  the  young  fish  is  somewhat  forked; 
in  the  adult  it  looks  as  if  cut  with  a  blunt  pair 
of  shears.  The  flesh  is  pale,  and  the  general 
external  coloration  is  an  olive-green  on  the  back 
and  silvery  on  the  belly.  In  the  fresh  sea-run 
fish  taken  in  the  salmon  traps  of  Upper  Puget 
Sound,  I  observed  that  a  deep  blue  tinge  was 
always  present  on  the  back,  and  on  the  head, 
back,  upper  fins,  and  tails  were  more  or  less 
black  spots,  but  the  belly  was  usually  free  from 
them.  Both  sexes  in  the  spring  have  a  broad 
flesh-colored  median  band,  and  there  is  a  deep, 
mellow  red  on  the  gill  covers,  and  this  coloration 
is  generally  retained  throughout  the  year.  The 
fins  are  not  tinged  with  red,  and  no  color  slashes 
of  crimson  are  present  on  the  lower  jaw. 

The  steelhead  inhabits  coastwise  streams  from 
British  Columbia  south  to  Santa  Barbara  County, 
California,  and  those  west  of  Sierra  Nevada  and 
the  Cascade  Range.  It  is  very  abundant  in  the 
Lower  Columbia,  the  Russian,  and  Klamath 
rivers.  In  edible  qualities  it  is  about  on  a  par 


Steelbead  Trout  243 

with  the  other  salmonoids,  which  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  Pacific  salmon  (Oncorhyncus]  and  the 
golden  trout  of  the  Mt.  Whitney  streams,  are 
inferior,  I  think,  as  table  fish,  to  those  of  the 
same  family  with  a  habitat  east  of  the  Alle- 
ghany  Mountains. 

But  if  they  are  inferior  as  food  fishes,  the 
steelheads  certainly  possess  all  the  game  quali- 
ties of  our  Eastern  trouts,  and  their  large  size, 
when  taken  in  the  lower  estuaries  and  at  the 
mouths  of  rivers,  adds  to  the  zest  of  capture. 
They  are  fly-takers  when  in  the  streams,  and 
when  found  on  shallow  ledges  of  rocks  and  on 
the  bars  in  the  lower  waters.  On  taking  a 
natural  bait  the  steelhead  is  apt  to  surge  deep 
and  strong,  but  when  fastened  on  the  artificial 
feathers,  for  which  he  rises  eagerly,  is  an  acrobat, 
leaping  repeatedly  from  the  water.  These  aerial 
flights  naturally  lead  the  angler  to  believe  that 
he  is  closely  allied  to  the  rainbow,  the  only  trout 
living  in  waters  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
with  the  exception  of  the  stream  steelhead,  that 
rose  to  my  flies  and  leaped  frantically  into  the  air. 

Like  most  of  the  salmonoids  of  the  Pacific 
coast  this  fish  is  rich  in  local  nomenclature ; 
the  Russians  call  it  somka,  the  Kamchatkans, 


244  Tbe  Trouts  of  America 

mykiss,  the  Indians,  humaana,  to  which  Ameri- 
cans have  added  steelhead,  hardhead,  and  salmon- 
trout. 

During  the  last  decade  ichthyic  research  has 
been  very  active  in  the  waters  of  the  Pacific 
slope,  and  in  addition  to  radical  changes  in  the 
technical  nomenclature  of  the  salmon-trouts,  two 
new  species  have  come  to  light,  and  one  of  the 
charr-trouts  of  Eastern  waters  hitherto  strange 
to  science  has  been  differentiated  and  classified : 
these  new  species  will  be  described  on  subsequent 
pages. 

For  many  years  there  was  known  but  one 
subspecific  form  of  the  steelhead  series,  the  Kam- 
loops  trout  (Salmo  gairdneri  kamloops).  This  is 
a  fine  large  fish,  doubtless  intergrading  with  the 
typical  steelhead,  but  differing  from  it  in  habits, 
coloration,  and  in  form.  It  is  landlocked,  and, 
so  far  as  is  known  of  its  habitat,  is  confined  to 
the  lakes  of  British  Columbia,  particularly  lakes 
Kamloop,  Okanogan,  Kootenay,  and  other  lakes 
tributary  to  the  Eraser  River  or  to  the  Upper 
Columbia.  In  form  it  is  slender  and  graceful, 
while  the  type  of  the  species  is  rather  stout,  some- 
what deep,  with  a  thick  fleshy  tail  formation. 

(By  "  fleshy  tail  "  is  meant,  not  the  fin,  but  the 


THE   CRUCIAL    MOMENT 


Kamloops  Trout  245 

peduncle,  or  that  part  in  many  fishes  which  is 
finless,  usually  between  the  dorsal,  caudal,  or  anal 
fins;  in  the  trout  it  is  the  posterior  part  of  the 
body  situated  between  and  below  the  second 
dorsal  or  fatty  fin  and  the  tail  or  caudal  fin.) 

The  Kamloops  trout  has  a  large  eye,  a  rounded 
snout,  and  a  rather  large  mouth,  the  upper  jaw 
extending  backward  beyond  the  eye;  the  first 
dorsal  fin  is  somewhat  low,  but  the  anal  fin 
(next  to  the  tail  fin  on  the  belly)  is  larger  than 
usual  in  trouts,  and  the  caudal  fin  is  broad  and 
strikingly  forked.  The  coloration  is  much 
brighter  than  in  the  typical  species,  being  very 
silvery  below  the  lateral  line  and  with  few  spots ; 
on  the  back  a  darkish  olive  prevails,  and  when  the 
fish  is  freshly  taken  from  the  water,  on  the  middle 
of  the  sides  a  broad  band  of  light  rose-pink  is 
present,  covering  about  one-third  of  the  entire 
depth  of  the  fish.  Spots  of  the  size  of  pinheads 
are  irregularly  scattered  over  the  back,  being 
more  numerous  posteriorly,  with  only  a  few  faint 
ones  on  the  upper  part  of  the  head;  there  are 
also  numerous  small  black  spots  on  the  dorsal 
and  anal  fins,  similar  to  those  on  the  back,  but 
more  distinct. 

We  have  no  detailed  account  of  the  actions  of 


246  The  Trouts  of  America 

the  Kamloops  trout  when  restrained  by  the  rod, 
but  there  is  no  question  as  to  its  game  qualities, 
for  its  environment,  pedigree,  and  structure  indi- 
cate the  possession  of  these  traits ;  moreover, 
being  landlocked  and  seldom  growing  beyond 
sixteen  or  seventeen  inches  in  length,  the 
average  weight  not  exceeding  a  pound,  and 
spawning  in  the  small  confluents  of  the  lakes  of 
its  habitat,  no  doubt  can  exist  as  to  its  rising 
well  to  the  surface-fly  and  fighting  bravely  for 
freedom. 

Within  a  comparatively  few  years,  Admiral 
L.  A.  Beardslee,  U.S.N.,  an  ardent  angler  and 
close  observer,  while  stationed  in  command  of  the 
fleet  at  Port  Angeles,  Washington,  found  two 
new  species  of  salmon-trouts,  each  of  the  steel- 
head  type.  Both  of  these  fish  were  living  in 
Crescent  Lake,  Washington,  and  one,  the  blue- 
back  trout  (Salmo  gairdneri  beardsleei},  was 
caught  in  deep  water,  from  thirty  to  fifty  feet, 
and  Admiral  Beardslee  reports  that  when  landed 
it  was  found  "puffed  up  with  air."  They  fight 
hard  until  brought  to  the  surface,  when  they 
give  up  at  once  and  are  easily  netted  or  gaffed. 
They  have  not  been  as  yet  taken  with  artificial 
flies,  the  prevailing  lure  being  a  large  spoon, 


Beardslee  Trout  247 

with  a  heavy  sinker  attached  to  the  line,  the 
spoon  spinning  near  the  bottom  of  the  lake.  The 
Beardslee  trout  from  the  description  given  by 
Mr.  George  E.  Mitchell  of  Port  Angeles,  is  cer- 
tainly a  handsome  fish.  He  states :  — 

"  On  the  back  there  is  a  deep,  dark  blue  ultra- 
marine color  of  a  peculiar  transparency,  dotted 
with  small  round  black  spots  from  the  size  of  a 
pinhead  to  slightly  larger;  the  two  fins  on  the 
back  are  dusky  in  color,  with  dots  also,  but  trans- 
parent ;  the  tail  fin  is  of  the  same  coloration,  and 
the  pectoral  (breast  fins)  and  belly  fins  are  white 
and  sometimes  faintly  tinged  with  a  pinkish  hue 
on  the  edges.  Looking  at  the  fish  sideways,  the 
scales  are  iridescent,  the  red  flash  predominat- 
ing. The  head  has  very  much  the  polish  of 
mother-of-pearl  around  the  lower  jaws,  red  and 
pale  blue  colors  predominating." 

Mr.  Mitchell  might  have  added  that  the  pale 
pink  band  of  the  lateral  line  enhanced  the  beauty 
of  the  coloration  of  the  fish,  which  has  no  red 
slashes  under  the  lower  jaw,  as  prevails  usually 
in  the  cut-throat  species.  The  most  prominent 
differences  in  the  typical  steelhead  and  the  trout 
of  Lake  Crescent,  independently  of  that  of  color- 
ation, which  is  pronounced,  is  in  the  scales,  those 


248  The  Trouts  of  America 

of  the  Beardslee  trout  being  larger,  and  the  body 
is  cleaner  built  and  less  stout. 

The  third  and  final  subspecies  of  the  steel- 
heads  was  also  found  in  Lake  Crescent,  Wash- 
ington, and  is  known  as  "  the  speckled  trout  of 
Lake  Crescent  "  (Salmo  gairdneri  crescentis}.  It 
is  more  slender  than  the  Beardslee  trout,  and  can 
be  distinguished  from  it  by  the  yellowish  red 
spots  on  the  lower  fins,  the  former  having  only 
small  black  spots  on  the  caudal  and  dorsal  fins. 
The  speckled  trout  may  also  be  known  on  sight 
by  a  large  black  blotch  on  the  cheek,  below 
the  eye,  and  behind  the  premaxillary  (bones  form- 
ing front  portions  of  the  upper  jaw).  I  have 
no  personal  knowledge  of  the  fighting  qualities 
of  this  Lake  Crescent  trout,  but  from  the  sparse 
reports  received,  would  judge  it  to  be  an  active 
game  fish  with  the  leaping  traits  of  the  other 
steelhead  forms. 


CHAPTER  V 

SALMON-TROUTS  CONTINUED  — THE  RAINBOW  SERIES 

—  RAINBOW    OR    COAST     RANGE    TROUT  —  BROOK 
TROUT    OF    WESTERN    OREGON  — McCLOUD  RIVER 
(CALIFORNIA)   RAINBOW  — KERN    RIVER    TROUT  - 
NO-SHEE  TROUT  — GOLDEN    TROUT  OF  MT.  WHIT- 
NEY   (CALIFORNIA)  —  BROWN   OR    GERMAN    TROUT 

—  LOCK  LEVEN  TROUT 

FOLLOWING  the  latest  approved  system  of  grada- 
tion in  classification  of  the  salmon-trouts,  we  now 
reach  the  rainbow  series,  which,  in  my  opinion, 
are  the  typical  game  fishes  of  the  salmon  family 
with  the  exception  possibly  of  the  Atlantic  sea- 
salmon  and  the  wannanish  or  ouananiche  of  the 
Lake  St.  John  region  of  Quebec ;  and  many  an- 
glers believe  that  "  inch  for  inch  and  pound  for 
pound  "  the  rainbow  is  their  equal  in  fighting  qual- 
ities when  found  in  streams  of  moderate  size  and 
depth  like  the  Au  Sable  rivers  of  Michigan  and 
the  waters  of  Essex  County,  New  York.  The 
rainbow  is,  without  doubt,  one  of  the  most  mus- 
cular and  resourceful  of  fishes  for  its  size,  rising 
freely  to  the  artificial  fly,  leaping  on  a  slack  line, 

249 


250  The  Trouts  of  America 

and  fighting  literally  to  the  death.  They  made 
on  my  rod  in  the  wild  waters  of  the  state  of 
Washington  as  sturdy  a  fight  as  the  steelhead, 
and  a  greater  one  than  the  cut-throat  or  the 
Montana  grayling,  coming  frequently  into  the 
air  and  making  longer  and  stronger  surges 
than  the  brook  beauty  of  our  Eastern  mountain 
streams. 

I  caught  the  rainbow  on  similar  flies  as  those 
that  lure  the  black-spotted  trouts  and  the  Mon- 
tana grayling.  They  were  apparently  more  indif- 
ferent to  shades  of  color  and  form  of  dressings 
than  either  of  the  last  two  fishes  named,  and 
were  equally  numerous  and  eager  for  the  feathers 
in  all  conditions  of  the  stream  —  the  quiet  pools, 
the  gentle  rifts  or  rushing  rapids,  the  long 
stretches  of  either  still  or  foaming  reaches ;  the 
eddies  below  outjutting  rocks,  or  the  swift  and 
narrow  waters  between  them,  all  yielded  "  the  red- 
sides,"  as  they  are  often  called  on  the  Pacific 
slope.  It  was  also  noted  that  they  were  much 
quicker  than  other  trouts  in  their  movements, 
particularly  in  seeking  the  shelter  of  shelving 
rocks,  reminding  the  angler,  when  first  hooked, 
somewhat  of  the  mangrove  snapper  of  the  Gulf 
waters,  but  under  the  restraining  line  they  come 


Rainbow  Trout  251 

grandly  from  the  water,  leaping  sometimes  over 
two  feet  into  the  air. 

Strange  as  it  may  appear,  the  rainbow  when 
planted  in  Eastern  waters  suitable  for  them,  ex- 
hibit greater  game  qualities  than  is  shown  in 
their  native  habitat.  This  was  the  unanimous 
opinion  of  every  angler  with  whom  I  fished  for 
rainbow  in  Michigan  and  in  Keene  Valley,  New 
York;  and  these  rodsters  had  cast  the  feathers 
for  the  indigenous  fish  of  the  streams  of  the  state 
of  Washington  and  other  sections.  In  Eastern 
waters,  the  rainbow  appear  to  have  acquired  in- 
creased strength  and  certainly  greater  leaping 
traits,  but  this  improvement  in  size  and  fight- 
ing quality  is  not  unusual  in  transplanted  fish. 
The  introduced  black  bass  from  Western  waters 
grows  larger  in  Eastern  lakes,  and  holds  its 
own,  when  on  the  hook,  with  the  parent  fish  in 
waters  west  of  the  Alleghanies.  The  abhorrent 
carp  brought  from  Germany  grows  larger  and 
more  rapidly  in  our  Southern  waters,  while  he 
increases  our  repugnance  to  his  flesh  as  food  the 
more  we  see  of  him.  The  imported  brown  or 
German  trout,  which  is  rapidly  becoming  the 
butcher  of  our  mountain  brook  beauties  (fonti- 
nalis],  bids  fair  to  grow  to  the  inert  bulk  of  a 


252  The  Trouts  of  America 

Daniel  Lambert  among  fishes,  as  it  certainly  is 
the  largest  and  tamest  fighter  of  our  fresh-water 
salmonoids. 

The  rainbow  is  the  hardiest  of  the  salmon- 
trouts,  for  it  will  thrive  in  water  of  a  higher  tem- 
perature than  is  suitable  for  other  species,  and 
does  not  appear  to  be  afflicted  with  the  ordinary 
diseases  of  fish  to  the  extent  that  other  species 
are.  Fungus  is  not  apt  to  ensue  when  the  skin 
of  the  rainbow  is  bruised ;  this  is,  doubtless, 
owing  to  its  active  habits  in  foraging  for  food, 
as  it  seeks  all  sections  and  conditions  of  the 
stream,  though  loving  best  the  highly  aerated 
waters  of  a  rapid  current. 

Although  a  gourmand  in  its  appetite,  it  is 
cleanly  in  feeding,  liking  best  the  live  minnow  or 
the  insect  struggling  for  life  on  the  surface;  a 
swimming  grasshopper  is  irresistible,  and  no  fish 
rises  so  freely  to  a  cast  of  artificial  flies. 

The  differentiation  between  the  rainbow  and 
the  steelhead  lies  apparently  and  solely  in  the 
scales ;  those  on  the  latter  being  always  smaller 
than  in  the  typical  "  red-sides."  Many  intelligent 
and  observant  anglers  believe  that  the  young  rain- 
bows, so  called,  hatched  in  the  brooks  from  spawn 
of  the  steelhead,  remain  in  the  mountain  streams 


THE   STEELHEAD   TROUT 
Salmo  gairdneri 


THE   RAINBOW   TROUT 
Salmo  irideus 


THE   LOCK   LEVIN   TROUT 

Salmo  levinensis 


Rainbow  Trout  253 

from  six  months  to  three  years,  going  down  to 
the  sea  with  the  high  waters  of  the  spring,  after 
which  they  return  to  the  streams  to  spawn  as 
typical  steelheads.  Those  that  are  landlocked 
or  do  not  descend  to  the  sea  remain  rainbow  all 
their  lives.  Be  this  angling  theory  correct  or 
not  so,  the  only  scientific  rebuttal  of  it  is  the  fact 
that  the  scales  are  smaller  in  the  steelheads  than 
they  are  in  the  rainbow,  with  a  few  other  minor 
differences. 

There  are  one  species  and  five  subspecies  of 
the  rainbows,  the  typical  form  being  popularly 
known  as  the  rainbow  or  Coast  Range  trout 
(Salmo  irideus,  specific  name  from  the  Latin,  "  a 
rainbow  ").  It  is  a  large,  robust,  short,  and  deep 
fish,  growing  to  a  weight  of  thirteen  pounds  in 
the  Williamson  River,  and  up  to  thirty  pounds 
when  sea-run.  The  head  is  short,  somewhat  con- 
vex, and  "obtusely  ridged  above";  mouth  slightly 
smaller  than  in  other  trouts,  and  the  eyes  are 
somewhat  larger;  the  teeth  on  the  roof  of  the 
mouth  are  in  two  irregular  series ;  the  tail  fin  is 
slightly  forked,  the  body,  sides,  and  ventral  fins 
irregularly  but  profusely  marked  with  black  spots, 
those  on  the  tail  being  smaller  than  those  on  the 
body  and  on  other  fins.  The  coloration  is  bluish 


254  Tbe  Trouts  of  America 

above  and  whitish  on  the  sides,  which  also,  in 
both  sexes,  have  a  broad  lateral  band  with  reddish 
blotches,  the  sea-run  specimens  being  plain  silvery. 
If  an  angler  chances  to  catch  a  rainbow  in 
Eastern  waters,  it  will  probably  be  where  the 
Eastern  brook  trout  is  also  found,  and  the  "  red- 
sides  "  can  easily  be  distinguished  from  it  by  the 
lateral  band,  more  or  less  reddish,  always  on  the 
sides  of  both  sexes,  and  by  the  presence  of  numer- 
ous black  irregular  spots  located  on  the  body, 
head,  and  fins ;  those  on  the  caudal  fin  being 
somewhat  smaller  than  the  spots  elsewhere.  The 
brook  trout  (fontinalis)  has  red  spots;  the  rain- 
bows do  not  have  them.  In  this  connection  it 
may  also  be  well  to  state  that  if  the  Eastern  an- 
gler should  chance  to  hook  a  German  or  brown 
trout,  or  a  Lock  Leven,  both  of  which  are  intro- 
duced salmon-trouts,  he  will  know  the  German 
form  by  its  almost  square  tail,  looking  as  if  it  was 
cut  in  a  direct  line  by  a  sharp  knife ;  it  may  also 
be  recognized  by  its  large  scales  visible  clearly  to 
the  eye,  and  by  the  big  red  spots,  the  largest  of 
which  are  just  above  the  lateral  line  in  an  almost 
straight  row.  The  Lock  Leven  trout  may  be 
known  by  its  deep  red  flesh,  and  by  the  absence 
of  red  spots,  which  do  not  appear  until  the  fish  is 


Rainbow  Trout  255 

three  or  four  years  old,  and  then  are  faint  in 
color. 

The  habitat  of  the  rainbow  trouts  is  in  the 
mountain  streams  of  the  Pacific  coast,  the  type 
of  the  species  being  found  in  the  brooks  of  the 
Coast  Range,  in  California,  from  the  Klamath 
River  to  San  Luis  Rey.  So  popular,  however, 
is  this  fish,  not  only  among  anglers  but  with 
fish  culturists,  that  it  has  been  very  generally 
introduced  not  alone  in  the  Eastern  states,  but 
also  in  the  waters  of  those  states  between  the 
Alleghany  Range  and  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The 
United  States  Fish  Commission  has  sent  to  Eng- 
land shipments  of  the  eggs  of  the  rainbow  which 
have  been  successfully  hatched.  With  the  usual 
conservatism  of  Englishmen,  however,  the  anglers 
of  that  country  hesitate  to  place  rainbow  in  waters 
inhabited  by  the  native  brown  trout,  than  which 
the  rainbow  is  vastly  superior  both  as  an  edible 
and  as  a  rod  fish. 

Following  the  usual  classification,  "the  brook 
trout  of  western  Oregon  "  (Salmo  irideus  masoni] 
is  the  most  prominent  of  the  five  subspecific 
forms  into  which  the  species  have  been  divided. 
It  is  the  common  brook  trout  of  the  Lower 
Columbia  and  of  the  coastwise  streams  of  Oregon 


256  The  Trouts  of  America 

and  Washington,  and  is  very  similar  to  the 
typical  species  (irideus).  It  is  also  the  fish  by 
which  Dr.  Gilbert  differentiated  the  rainbows 
from  the  steelheads  and  the  cut-throats ;  the  size 
of  the  scales,  as  before  stated,  being  the  basis  of 
the  Doctor's  conclusions.  Certainly  it  is  less 
slender  than  the  cut-throat,  and  the  snout  is  more 
rounded,  there  is  no  red  blotch  on  the  lower 
jaw,  and  no  teeth  at  the  base  of  the  tongue ; 
again,  it  seldom  grows  larger  than  a  pound  in 
weight.  Jordan  and  Evermann  state  that  this 
fish  "  apparently  merges  into  the  ordinary  rainbow 
southward,  if  indeed  the  two  forms  are  dis- 
tinguishable. We  know  of  no  diagnostic  char- 
acter, but  further  comparison  is  needed." 

This  fish  is  the  one  sought  after  by  the 
enthusiastic  anglers  of  Seattle  and  Tacoma,  and 
I  am  told  it  rises  fiercely  to  the  artificial  fly, 
without  any  peculiar  preference  for  form  or 
color;  but  doubtless  there  are  anglers  in  the 
cities  named  who  are  ready  to  "  swear  by "  a 
combination  of  colors  that  represent  no  living 
thing  on  earth,  in  the  air,  or  in  the  water. 

The  "  McCloud  River  rainbow  trout "  (Salmo 
irideus  shasta,  the  subspecific  from  Mt.  Shasta, 
California)  is  of  peculiar  interest,  as  it  was  with 


Rainbow  Trout  257 

this  form  of  the  rainbow  trouts  that  the  waters 
of  the  Eastern  and  Middle  Western  states  were 
stocked,  the  first  shipment  from  the  McCloud 
River  occurring  in  1870.  Thus  we  have  had 
the  rainbow  in  the  East  over  thirty-one  years,  and 
while  many  anglers  and  fish  culturists  are  dis- 
posed to  believe  that  the  plant  has  been  a  failure, 
particularly  as  a  food  supply,  other  rodsters  who 
have  essayed  this  fish  in  waters  adapted  to  it,  are 
inclined  to  place  it  above  all  other  trouts  in  game 
qualities.  True,  many  failures  have  occurred 
when  the  fish  has  been  placed  in  unsuitable  lakes 
or  streams,  especially  where  easy  access  to  deep 
water  or  to  the  sea  occurs.  It  is  by  nature  a 
sea-running  fish,  but  it  will  not,  or  rather  does 
not,  go  down  to  salt  water  when  living  in  streams 
several  hundred  miles  from  the  ocean  although 
a  free  course  lies  before  it.  In  this  respect  it 
resembles  closely  the  habit  of  our  Eastern  charr,  — 
the  red-spotted  form,  —  which  always  visits  the 
salt  water  when  living  in  short  coastwise  streams, 
the  mouths  of  which  flow  into  the  estuaries  or 
bays,  as  occurs  on  Long  Island  and  in  several  of 
the  Eastern  states,  Massachusetts  particularly. 

For   many   years   the   subject   of  the  original 
habitat  of  the  salmon  —  whether  in  the  ocean  or 


258  The  Trouts  of  America 

in  fresh  waters  —  has  been  agitated  and  dis- 
cussed by  ichthyologists  and  fishermen.  Does 
not  this  trait  of  the  salmon-trouts  and  charr- 
trouts  of  going  to  salt  water,  wherever  easily 
accessible,  throw  some  light  on  the  subject  ?  It 
seems  to  be  equally  instinctive  with  all  salmonoids 
to  seek  the  sea  after  the  spawning  season  is  over, 
as  it  is  for  them  to  seek  the  cold  upper  waters 
to  spawn,  those  habitually  living  in  landlocked 
lakes  or  inland  fluvial  waters  distant  from  salt 
water,  having  naturally  lost  their  sea-going  in- 
stinct from  its  long  disuse. 

It  is  this  species  of  rainbow  by  which  the 
anglers  living  east  of  the  Pacific  slope  must 
judge  of  the  game  and  edible  qualities  of  the 
species;  and  as  it  thrives  in  many  waters  dis- 
tant from  its  native  habitat,  we  are  not  lacking 
data  upon  which  to  form  a  correct  judgment. 
This  fish  is  somewhat  erratic  in  its  likes  and 
dislikes  of  certain  waters,  particularly  those  of 
the  Atlantic  east  of  the  Alleghanies.  We  find 
it  thriving  beyond  the  Mississippi  as  far  west  as 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  where  it  has  been  planted 
very  generally,  and  the  Waltonians  are  one  in 
praise  of  its  acrobatic  and  other  game  traits. 
The  same  may  be  said  of  this  subspecies  wher- 


Rainbow  Trout  259 

ever  it  has  been  introduced  in  the  Western  and 
Northwestern  states  lying  between  the  Mississippi 
River  and  the  Alleghany  Mountains.  I  have 
taken  them  in  Michigan  and  found  them  superior 
to  any  other  fish  of  similar  size  in  any  water. 
East  of  the  Alleghanies  there  are  some  waters  in 
which  they  do  not  thrive,  or  disappear,  from  some 
cause,  entirely.  On  the  other  hand,  there  are 
streams,  particularly  in  northern  New  York, 
where  they  grow  in  vigor  of  muscle  beyond  the 
limit  of  gameness  shown  in  the  parent  fish  of  the 
McCloud  River.  Again,  the  mountain  streams  of 
western  North  Carolina  are  peculiarly  adapted  to 
them,  and  they  grow  therein  to  a  large  size  and 
great  fighting  qualities ;  in  New  England  waters, 
where  they  have  been  recently  introduced,  they 
are  thriving  well  and  yielding  good  sport  on  the 
rod. 

It  would  seem  superfluous  to  describe  the 
markings  and  coloration  of  the  Shasta  rainbow, 
for  the  broad  reddish  lateral  band  should  be  a 
sign  manual  on  sight;  but  the  angler  must  remem- 
ber that  the  cut-throat  and  steelhead  trouts  are 
being  very  generally  introduced  into  waters  east 
of  the  Sierra  Nevadas,  and  that  these  fish  also 
display  the  same  markings  on  the  sides,  and  may, 


160  The  Trouts  of  America 

in  some  waters,  be  confused  with  the  rainbow. 
Hence,  the  following  detailed  description  of 
structure  and  coloration  of  the  Shasta  is  re- 
quired :  — 

The  body  is  nearly  four  times  its  depth,  and  the 
head  is  of  the  same  proportion  to  the  length  of  the 
body;  in  the  first  dorsal  and  anal  fins  will  be 
found  eleven  rays,  and  the  tail  fin  is  more  deeply 
forked  than  in  the  cut-throat,  while  the  steelhead 
has  a  truncate  or  nearly  square  tail  fin  ;  the  scales 
are  larger  than  in  the  other  two  species  named, 
and  the  eye  is  larger  than  in  the  steelhead,  the 
mouth  moderate  in  size.  The  coloration  is  bluish 
on  the  back  and  silvery  on  the  sides,  and  all  over 
the  head,  fins,  and  body  above  the  median  line 
black  spots  appear,  the  belly  being  nearly  free 
from  them.  (The  cut-throat  has  but  few  spots  on 
the  head,  with  deep  red  fins,  and  the  steelhead  is 
olive-green  on  the  back  and  has  no  red  on  the 
lower  jaw.)  The  fins  seldom  show  a  red  tinge, 
but  there  is  always  present  in  both  sexes  of  the 
Shasta  trout  the  broad  red  lateral  band  and 
blotches,  and  to  render  identification  more  difficult 
and  confusing  there  is  usually  a  dash  of  red  on 
the  under  jaw,  similar  to  that  shown  under  the 
mandible  of  the  cut-throat,  which,  unfortunately 


Rainbow  Trout  261 

and  most  perplexingly  to  the  angler-naturalist,  is 
not  always  present  on  the  last-named  fish. 

The  Shasta  rainbow  will  rise  freely  to  any  of 
the  standard  trout  flies,  and  as  it  grows  to  a 
stream  weight  of  five  or  six  pounds,  it  yields 
exceptional  sport,  particularly  in  waters  where 
it  is  new  to  the  angler's  rod.  The  dressing  of 
the  feathers,  which  it  prefers  when  tied  on  No. 
10  Sproat  hooks,  are  those  of  the  March  Brown, 
Coachman,  and  Brown  Hackle  used  respectively 
as  tail  or  end  flies  and  first  and  second  droppers. 

The  habitat  of  this  trout  is  in  the  streams  of 
the  Sierra  Nevada,  from  Mt.  Shasta  southward, 
but  it  is  best  known  in  the  McCloud  River, 
where  the  United  States  Fish  Commission  main- 
tains a  hatchery  for  trouts  and  the  quinnat 
salmon.  It  is  very  abundant,  and  subject  to 
many  variations  in  form  and  color  in  its  native 
streams,  but  not  to  so  great  an  extent  in  waters 
to  which  it  has  been  transplanted.  The  limit  of 
its  range  southward  is  not  known,  and  it  may  be 
that  it  intergrades  with  other  forms  of  the  rain- 
bows in  middle  and  southern  California. 

The  Kern  River  trout  (Salmo  irideus  gilberti} 
is  one  of  peculiar  interest  from  the  fact  that  it 
has  been  found  in  no  other  water,  and  particularly 


262  The  Trout s  of  America 

from  its  size  and  the  grandeur  of  its  environment, 
the  river  coursing  through  a  canon  of  great 
depth,  with  the  mountain  sides  on  the  west  bank 
rising  nearly  perpendicular  some  thousands  of 
feet.  Adown  its  course  the  stream  rushes 
wildly  over  a  series  of  broken  rocks,  sand  bars, 
cascades,  and  gigantic  trunks  of  fallen  juniper 
trees,  and  then  subsiding,  here  and  there,  into 
deep  pools.  The  trout  may  be  found  in  all  the 
varied  conditions  of  the  stream,  and  as  they  reach 
a  weight  of  about  eight  pounds,  the  pleasure  of 
catching  them  on  a  light  rod  and  a  dancing  fly 
in  such  surroundings  is  incomparable,  but  to 
reach  their  home  waters  is  somewhat  of  an  ardu- 
ous, certainly  a  lengthy,  journey.  My  recent 
visit  to  the  Kern  River  entailed  a  buckboard  ride 
of  sixty  miles  from  Visalia,  California,  and  a  mule- 
back  straddle  from  Mineral  King,  of  three  days, 
over  mountain  ranges  with  narrow  trails  and 
precipitous  sides,  and  rattlesnakes  startling  the 
mule  every  few  hundred  feet.  Our  party  of 
six  averaged  a  snake  to  a  man  each  day  of  the 
trip,  the  revolver  fired  from  the  back  of  our 
mules  being  the  destroyer.  The  Kern  River 
country  is  the  natural  and  densely  populated 
home  of  the  rattlers. 


THE   DUBLIN    POND   TROUT 
Salvelinus  fontinalis  agassizii 


THE    MONTANA   GRAYLING 


Kern  River  Trout  263 

The  trout  in  Kern  River  is  very  similar  in  its 
markings  and  coloration  to  the  McCloud  River 
or  Shasta  trout;  the  scales,  however,  are  smaller, 
being  about  equal  in  size  to  those  on  the  typical 
cut-throat ;  sides  and  body  profusely  spotted,  and 
the  old  fish  have  more  or  less  orange  between 
the  branches  of  the  lower  jaw,  which  marking  is 
faint  or  entirely  wanting  in  the  young  fish.  The 
characteristic  red  lateral  band  is  present  at  all 
ages. 

These  fishes  are  very  game,  taking  the  fly  on 
the  surface  and  fighting  hard  by  deep  and  long 
surges,  a  five-pounder  taxing  tackle  and  skill  to 
net.  None  of  them  jumped  out  of  water  when 
hooked  by  me,  but  some  anglers  assert  that 
these  fish  always  come  into  the  air  when  re- 
strained by  a  springing  rod,  and  from  the  fact 
that  they  are  rainbows,  the  typical  fish  of  this 
species  always  jumping  freely,  I  am  disposed  to 
think  that  my  experience  was  unusual,  and  that 
the  fish  were  not  in  a  leaping  humor  during  my 
three  days'  outing  on  Kern  River.  This  leads 
me  to  condone  the  sometimes  liberal  statements 
made  by  anglers  as  to  the  "  how,  when,  and 
where  "  they  killed  such  and  such  fish,  and  the 
peculiar  antics  the  fins  displayed  before  they  were 


264  The  Trouts  of  America 

creeled.  Certainly  fish  as  well  as  fishermen  have 
their  "  off  days."  But  of  one  fact  I  am  sure,  the 
Kern  River  trout  will,  when  in  a  feeding  humor, 
take  any  fly  that  lures  the  charrs  of  Eastern 
waters. 

In  the  upper  Sacramento  River  will  be  found 
the  "  Nissuee,"  or,  as  the  Indians  call  it,  the  "  No- 
shee  "  trout  (Salmo  irideus  stonei],  which  is  abun- 
dant about  eight  or  ten  miles  above  the  United 
States  hatchery  at  Baird,  California.  It  is  distin- 
guished by  its  large  size,  specimens  having  been 
taken  weighing  twelve  pounds ;  by  its  small 
scales  and  fewer  teeth  —  those  on  the  roof  of  the 
mouth  consisting  of  a  single  zigzag  series.  The 
upper  parts  of  the  body  are  of  a  plain  greenish 
color;  the  black  spots  are  few  in  number  con- 
fined chiefly  to  the  posterior  part  of  the  body, 
and  on  the  back  and  tail  fins  (including  the  small 
adipose  or  fatty  fin)  they  are  small  and  sparsely 
distributed.  This  fish  is  said  to  rise  freely  to 
the  artificial  fly. 

The  Kern  River  trout  is  believed  by  many 
ichthyologists  to  be  an  intermediate  grade  be- 
tween the  rainbow,  the  steelhead,  and  the  cut- 
throat, and  so  nearly  halfway  between  that  it 
cannot  be  said  which  species  it  is  descended  from. 


Nissuee  Trout  265 

The  "  No-shee  "  trout,  now  under  consideration, 
is  reputed  to  be,  by  the  same  authorities,  an  in- 
termediate between  the  Kern  River  trout  and 
the  McCloud  River  trout,  the  latter  being  slightly 
different  in  appearance  from  the  regular  rainbow 
trout.  Just  here  it  seems  proper  to  give  the 
basis  of  specific  classification,  accepted  by  fish 
savants :  — 

"  If  one  kind  of  fish  and  all  known  variations 
of  it  possess  certain  characteristics,  and  another 
kind  and  all  its  known  variations  have  other  dis- 
tinct characteristics,  each  will  be  called  a  species 
and  receive  a  scientific  name." 

In  connection  with  the  above  lucid  explanation 
of  specific  classification,  it  is  also  stated :  "  That 
when  new  variations  of  each  species  are  found 
with  the  variations  approaching  each  other,  it 
will  become  more  difficult  to  say  where  in  the 
scale  each  species  ends  and  what  the  character- 
istics of  each  species  are.  The  more  numerous 
these  links  between  species  and  the  more  com- 
plete the  scale  between  them,  the  more  difficult 
it  becomes  to  say  to  what  species  a  variety  be- 
longs. The  species  become  merged  into  one, 
and  all  varieties  must  be  considered  as  one 
species.  This  is  what  has  happened  to  the  cut- 


266  The  Trouts  of  America 

throat  and  the  rainbow  trouts.  These  fishes  are 
connecting  links  halfway  between,  going  to  show 
that  the  different  species  of  American  trouts, 
apparently  distinct  and  widely  separated  and  iso- 
lated geographically,  are  but  nature's  variations 
of  a  common  stock,  with  links  connecting  them 
all." 

These  conclusions  of  the  ichthyologists  simply 
confirm  those  of  the  angler-naturalists  who  have 
grown  gray  in  observing  closely  the  habits  and 
markings  of  fish  when  angling  for  them  in  their 
native  waters ;  and  it  may  be  added  that  coloration, 
hitherto  ignored  as  a  factor  in  classification  by 
the  scientists,  seems  to  have  much  to  do  in  the 
identification,  as  distinct  forms,  of  the  salmon- 
trouts  of  the  Pacific  slope. 

The  fifth  and  final  subspecies  of  our  native 
rainbow  trout  series  is  "  the  golden  trout  of  Mt. 
Whitney,"  California.  (Salmo  irideus  agua  bonita, 
the  subspecific  name,  translated  literally,  is  "beau- 
tiful water,"  the  name,  of  a  cascade  on  Volcano 
Creek,  near  which  this  trout  abounds.)  This  fish 
has  the  most  beautiful  coloration  of  any  of  the 
salmon-trouts,  and  it  is  appropriately  called  the 
"  golden  trout,"  for  a  golden  or  orange  tinge  of 
different  depths  of  color  may  be  seen  on  all  parts 


Golden  Trout  267 

of  the  body,  on  the  gill  covers,  and  on  the  breast 
and  anal  fins.  The  popular  name  of  this  fish, 
"  golden  trout,"  should  not  lead  to  its  confusion 
with  the  Sunapee  Lake  trout,  which  also  has  the 
common  name  of  "  golden  trout " ;  the  latter,  for- 
tunately, is  a  charr,  and  although  a  handsome 
fish,  it  does  not  have  the  mellow  richness  of  color 
as  is  shown  on  the  salmon-trout  of  Mt.  Whitney. 
A  more  detailed  description  of  its  coloration  is 
necessary  to  get  even  a  partial  conception  of  its 
beauty. 

Olive  prevails  above  the  lateral  line,  and  light 
golden  hues  more  or  less  deep  on  the  sides  and 
belly ;  on  the  middle  of  the  body,  and  along  the 
lateral  line  there  is  a  deep  scarlet  stripe,  broadest 
under  the  dorsal  and  narrowing  at  either  end,  but 
not  reaching  the  head  or  the  base  of  the  tail  fin ; 
on  the  middle  line  of  the  belly  there  is  a  broad 
scarlet  band  reaching  from  the  chin  to  anal  fin, 
which  is  equally  bright  in  its  entire  length,  with 
a  fainter  shade  along  the  lower  side  from  the  anal 
fin  to  tip  of  caudal.  There  is  no  crimson  slash 
on  the  throat,  and  the  dark  spots,  large  and  well 
marked,  are  seen  on  the  posterior  part  of  the 
body,  and  on  the  tail  fin ;  these  spots  are  smaller, 
but  also  well  marked  on  the  dorsal  fin,  and  a  few 


268  The  T routs  of  America 

smaller  ones  are  scattered  along  forward  to  the 
head  in  some  specimens,  but  not  in  others.  The 
fins  are  variously  and  beautifully  colored.  On 
the  upper  angle  of  the  first  dorsal  a  yellowish 
white  prevails,  edged  by  a  dark  oblique  streak, 
while  the  rest  of  the  fin  is  light  olive  in  color  with 
four  or  five  rows  of  small  black  spots.  The  pec- 
toral or  breast  fins  are  of  light  orange,  the  ven- 
trals  deep  orange  with  a  faint  blackish  tip,  the 
anterior  edge  conspicuously  and  abruptly  white  as 
in  the  fontinalis.  The  anal  fin  is  dusky  orange, 
the  tips  of  the  rays  blackish ;  the  tail  fin  is  olive 
tinged  with  orange  on  its  lower  edge,  and  pro- 
fusely spotted  with  black.  I  have  been  par- 
ticular in  describing  in  detail  the  coloration  of 
this  fish,  which  is  the  form  that  lives  in  the  more 
quiet  waters  above  the  last  falls  of  Whitney's 
Creek  before  it  flows  into  Kern  River,  because  I 
have  taken  at  the  mouth  of  the  creek  a  golden 
trout  and  a  Kern  River  form,  another  about  six 
hundred  yards  above  the  mouth  and  below  the 
lower  falls,  and  about  a  dozen  or  more  above  the 
falls.  In  these  localities,  the  extremes  of  which 
were  hardly  a  mile  apart,  three  fish  of  different 
coloration  and  form  were  taken,  yet  they  were  all 
rainbows.  The  Kern  River  fish  weighed  three 


Golden  Trout  269 

pounds,  was  bluish  in  color  above  the  lateral  line, 
and  profusely  black  spotted,  but  with  no  golden 
hues,  and  with  distinct  slashes  of  reddish  orange 
along  the  throat,  and  a  well-defined  pinkish  lat- 
eral band,  a  typical  rainbow.  Going  up  the  creek, 
which  came  roaring  down  the  gorge,  with  the 
same  tackle  and  lures,  a  trout  weighing  half  a 
pound,  orange-hued,  but  without  the  bright  golden 
coloration  of  one  which  I  caught  an  hour  after- 
ward above  the  falls,  distant  only  about  five  hun- 
dred yards  farther  up  the  stream.  I  could  not 
understand  at  the  time  this  singular  confusion  of 
form  and  coloration  caught  in  the  same  water, 
and  so  near  each  other,  except  by  concluding  the 
first  fish,  taken  in  the  lower  part  of  the  creek  near 
its  mouth,  was  a  pure  Kern  River  form;  the 
second  a  fish  of  the  same  species  visiting  or  liv- 
ing in  Whitney's  Creek,  the  waters  of  which  were 
of  a  milky  color  having  chemical  constituents  that 
effected,  slowly  or  instantaneously,  the  sensitive 
color  pigments  under  the  skin  of  the  fish.  The 
typical  golden  trout  taken  above  the  falls  was  a 
perfect  specimen,  similar  in  coloration  and  char- 
acteristic markings,  as  above  described.  Thus 
my  experience  on  this  outing  leads  me  to  believe 
in  the  dicta  of  American  ichthyologists  that  the 


270  The  Trouts  of  America 

golden  trout  of  Mt.  Whitney  are  descended  from 
the  Kern  River  trout ;  but  how  the  progeny  ever 
managed  to  mount  or  leap  the  lower  falls,  at  least 
forty  feet  in  height  and  perpendicular,  is  a  mystery 
yet  to  be  unveiled. 

This  trout,  with  its  gleam  of  gold,  is  a  very 
active  fish,  necessarily  so  below  the  lower  falls, 
where  the  stream  is  rushing  over  its  rocky  bed  at 
the  rate  of  thirty  miles  an  hour,  with  only,  here 
and  there,  a  small  pool  averaging  about  two  feet 
in  depth,  hedged  in  by  large  and  jagged  masses 
of  rock ;  and  in  these  shallow  holes,  for  they  can 
be  called  only  by  that  name,  this  fish  lies  and 
rises  eagerly  to  the  feathers  dressed  on  the  usual 
standard  patterns  of  the  ordinary  trout  flies  in  use 
all  over  the  country. 

The  proper  season  to  visit  the  Mt.  Whitney 
waters  is  from  July  to  September ;  they  are  most 
easily  reached  by  rail,  and  within  fifty  miles  of 
the  fishing  grounds,  the  shortest  route  being  via 
Reno,  to  Mound  House,  thence  to  Pine  station, 
where  guides  and  outfits  can  be  had  to  ascend  by 
trail  the  Cottonwood  Canon  to  the  high  Sierras 
and  to  Mt.  Whitney. 

The  habitat  of  the  golden  trout,  according  to 
Dr.  Gilbert,  is  confined  to  the  mountain  streams 


German  Trout  271 

on  the  west  side  of  Mt.  Whitney  that  are  trib- 
utary to  Kern  River,  and  to  its  south  fork;  it 
has  been  largely  introduced  into  streams  about 
Owen  Lake  on  the  east  side  of  the  mountains, 
waters  that  were  formerly  entirely  destitute  of 
trout. 

Of  the  three  foreign  species  of  salmon-trouts 
transplanted  to  American  waters,  the  best  known 
by  anglers  is  the  German  or  brown  trout  (Salmo 
fario],  which  were  planted  in  our  streams  in  1883. 
This  fish,  in  its  native  waters,  particularly  those  of 
Great  Britain,  presents  all  the  varied  characteris- 
tics of  coloration  and  form  that  distinguish  our 
American  trouts.  In  England,  there  appears  to 
be,  at  least,  twenty  trout  living  in  streams  not  dis- 
tant more  than  twenty-five  miles  from  each  other, 
which  the  resident  fishermen  designate  by  names 
such  as  "Tweed  trout,"  "  Teviot  trout,"  "Ettrick 
trout,"  etc.,  the  source  of  the  nomenclature  being 
the  name  of  the  river  in  which  the  fish  lives. 
These  trout  are  all  fario,  but  are  readily  distin- 
guished one  from  the  other  by  the  shape  and 
bulk  of  the  body  and  its  distinctive  coloration. 

The  brown  trout  was  the  fish  caught  and  eaten 
by  the  ancient  monks,  and  so  ideally  treated  upon 
by  Walton  and  Cotton,  by  the  Prioress  of  St. 


272  Tbe  Trouts  of  America 

Albans  in  her  quaint  old  English,  and  poetically 
by  Ausonius  in  the  sixth  century.  It  is  the  old- 
est and  best-known  salmon-trout  of  the  Eastern 
Hemisphere,  for  there  is  hardly  a  county  in  Eng- 
land without  its  trout  stream,  and  it  is  well  dis- 
tributed over  Scotland  and  Ireland  and  the  waters 
of  the  Continent. 

The  brown  trout  has  lost  popularity  among 
numbers  of  American  fishing  clubs  and  anglers 
because  of  its  rapid  growth,  large  size,  and 
consequent  ability  and  inclination  to  devastate 
waters  in  which  our  smaller  trouts  live.  Being 
able  to  exist  and  thrive  in  waters  of  a  higher 
temperature  than  is  adapted  to  other  trouts,  they 
should  never  be  placed  in  streams  which  the  latter 
inhabit.  True,  most,  if  not  all,  of  our  native 
salmonoids  are  cannibals,  in  fresh  or  salt  water; 
but  owing  to  the  size  of  the  brown  trouts  and  the 
practice  of  putting  them  in  comparatively  small 
and  shallow  trout  streams,  where  they  can  ravage 
at  will  on  fontinalis,  planting  of  them  should  be 
discountenanced  and  discontinued.  One  club,  the 
Castalia  of  Ohio,  owning  the  grandest  trout  stream 
in  America,  finding  that  the  introduced  brown 
trout  was  destroying  the  Eastern  red-spotted 
charr  (fontinalis),  used,  and  may  still  be  using, 


Brown  Trout  273 

every  means  to  destroy  them ;  and  similar  action 
will  be  and  should  be  taken  by  every  lessor  or 
owner  of  water  inhabited  by  our  native  trouts, 
if  the  foreign  fish  has  unfortunately  been  intro- 
duced therein. 

When  the  angler  is  fishing  a  trout  stream, 
particularly  one  east  of  the  Appalachian  Range, 
he  will  be  apt  to  hook  a  brown  trout,  and  may  be 
at  a  loss,  upon  seeing  the  red  spots  on  its  body, 
to  distinguish  it  from  the  native  red-spotted  trout. 
This  is  not  difficult.  The  scales  on  the  indige- 
nous Eastern  fish  are  nearly  microscopical  in 
size,  on  the  brown  trout  they  are  larger  and 
easily  seen  by  the  naked  eyes ;  the  imported  fish 
is  without  the  mottlings  or  wormlike  markings 
(vermiculations)  on  the  back,  which  are  always 
prominent  in  fontinalis ;  and  on  the  latter,  the 
red  spots  are  present  above  and  below  the  lat- 
eral line,  while  on  the  former,  they  are  larger,  sel- 
dom found  below  the  median  line,  and  there  is  a 
row  of  them  almost  invariably  along  the  middle 
of  the  body.  Again,  the  brown  trout  is  a  salmon 
trout  and  fontinalis  a  charr :  put  your  finger  in 
the  mouth  of  the  former  and  you  will  find  on 
the  roof  a  double  row  of  teeth  running  down  the 
central  bone  or  vomer;  in  the  mouth  of  the 


274  The  Trouts  of  America 

charr  you  will  find  no  teeth  on  the  front  part  of 
the  vomer. 

In  the  waters  of  the  Eastern  states  the  brown 
trout  grow  very  rapidly,  averaging  nearly  a 
pound  increase  in  weight  in  a  year,  while  in  Eng- 
land they  are  much  slower  in  growth,  hardly  one- 
third  of  a  pound  in  the  same  period.  In  foreign 
waters,  particularly  in  Ireland,  they  reach  a  weight 
of  thirty  pounds ;  the  largest  growth  in  American 
waters  so  far  as  I  know  is  eleven  pounds,  and  that 
specimen  was  doubtless  one  of  the  original  stock 
hatched  out  in  1883,  from  eggs  sent  from  Ger- 
many in  the  late  fall  of  1882.  They  are  reported 
as  growing  faster  and  to  a  greater  size  and  better 
condition  of  flesh  when  foraging  for  and  getting 
regular  meals  of  insects.  This  may  account  for 
the  rapidity  of  growth  in  American  streams,  where 
insect  life  swarms  below  and  above  and  around 
the  waters  of  the  pools. 

The  brown  trout  is  in  its  prime  for  the  rod 
from  about  the  first  of  May  to  the  middle  of  Sep- 
tember, during  which  period  it  rises  freely  to  the 
artificial  fly ;  and  in  our  Eastern  streams  it  appears 
to  be  indifferent  as  to  the  color  and  form  of  the 
feathers,  rising  to  any  dressing ;  better,  however, 
in  the  gloaming  than  in  the  brighter  hours  of  the 


Brown  Trout  275 

day,  a  habit  equally  prevalent  among  other  trouts 
and  strikingly  shown  by  the  small-mouthed  black 
bass.  In  English  waters  the  practice  of  the 
brown  trout  of  rising  viciously  to  the  surface  at 
any  moving  thing  is  acutely  developed ;  it  is  said 
to  rise  at  swallows  skimming  over  the  surface,  and 
that  on  one  occasion  a  tame  gull  had  its  leg 
broken  by  a  fiercely  rising  fario.  J.  J.  Armstead, 
an  English  fish  culturist,  relates  a  singular  inci- 
dent in  which  it  appears  that  "  The  biter  was  bit." 
He  says  that  he  was  standing  by  one  of  his  ponds 
when  a  large  bee  came  along  and  took  a  "  bee- 
line  "  right  into  the  water.  Undismayed,  the 
insect  went  spinning  along  the  surface.  Sud- 
denly there  was  a  splash  and  the  bee  went  down, 
but  in  a  few  seconds  rose  to  the  surface  somewhat 
out  of  gear.  In  two  hours  afterward  a  trout 
floated  dead  on  the  top  of  the  water  —  a  priori^ 
the  bee  stung  the  fish  unto  death ;  a  posteriori, 
the  fish  killed  was  another  fellow  that  died  from 
natural  or  other  causes,  and  when  dead  arose  to 
the  surface. 

In  Great  Britain  the  pursuit  of  the  brown  trout 
is  earnest  and  reduced  to  a  science.  Innumerable 
dressings  of  flies  are  in  use,  some  with  cork 
bodies  and  fish-scale  wings,  and  many  without 


276  The  Trouts  of  America 

these  constituents  are  rubbed  with  vaseline  and 
other  oily  substances  that  the  line  may  float  natu- 
rally in  up-stream  fishing,  when  the  angler  is  dry- 
fly  fishing.  The  majority  of  American  anglers 
are  content  to  dry  their  flies  by  switching  them 
six  or  more  times  in  the  air  previous  to  drop- 
ping them  into  the  water.  Gossamer  leaders 
and  midget  flies  tied  on  hooks  as  small  as  Nos. 
1 8  and  20  are  in  general  use  in  Great  Britain,  and 
the  accepted  method  is  fishing  up-stream  when 
the  fly  floats  as  a  dead  one,  and  the  casts  neces- 
sarily frequent,  or  the  flies  will  float  too  near  the 
angler  to  be  retrieved  properly  for  the  next  cast. 
Dry-fly  fishing  is  not  adapted  to  the  swift-run- 
ning American  streams,  but  I  have  often  prac- 
tised it  when  wading  down  by  leaving  the  water 
and  fishing  the  pool  below  from  its  foot.  They 
frequently  spin  the  minnow  for  trout  in  England, 
and  when  a  deep  troll  is  necessary  the  lead  or 
sinker  is  placed  inside  the  minnow,  a  practice 
which  has  never  been  followed  with  us,  although 
a  good  one  for  lake  trout  and  other  large  fish  of 
different  species. 

The  angling  authorities  of  England  recom- 
mend thirty-two  flies  as  the  most  attractive  to 
the  brown  trout,  consisting  mainly  of  the  palm- 


Brown  Trout  277 

ers,  the  duns,  the  spinners,  the  February  Red,  the 
March  Brown,  the  Alder,  the  Stone,  the  Sand-fly ; 
these  are  said  to  kill  always  when  the  fish  are 
rising.  It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  flies 
recommended  in  Colton's  addenda  to  Walton's 
"  Compleat  Angler,"  published  in  1653,  are  even 
now  among  the  most  deadly  for  trout,  not  only 
in  England,  but  in  America. 

The  brown  trout  is,  in  American  waters,  rather 
slimmer  in  build  than  our  American  red-spotted 
trout,  with  a  larger  and  more  pointed  head. 
The  back  is  dark  green  covered  with  well-de- 
fined black  spots,  and  the  dorsal  fin  has  both 
black  and  bright  red  or  vermilion  spots ;  the 
adipose,  or  fatty  fin,  is  also  beautifully  decorated 
with  three  red  spots.  Below  the  lateral  line 
the  coloration  is  of  a  yellowish  cast  with  a 
greenish  silvery  background.  The  tail,  or  cau- 
dal fin,  is  square,  and  on  its  edges  there  is  a 
reddish  stripe;  the  other  fins  are  orange  in 
color,  the  ventral  and  anal  having  a  white  stripe 
on  the  under  edge  shaded  with  deep  orange ; 
the  head,  the  under  part  of  which  is  yellow,  and 
the  gill  covers  are  covered  with  dark  spots,  the 
belly  is  pure  white,  above  which  is  a  deep  yel- 
low hue.  The  fish  commence  spawning  in  New 


278  The  Trouts  of  America 

York  waters  in  November,  and  have  been  found 
to  continue  to  do  so  until  February,  the  ova 
hatching  out  in  about  sixty-five  days  at  an 
average  temperature  of  forty-five  degrees. 

In  Great  Britain  many  experiments  have  been 
made  in  crossing  the  brown  trout  with  other 
species,  one  of  the  most  interesting  being  the 
cross  between  fario  with  our  native  charr  (fon- 
tinalis).  The  progeny  are  marked  like  a  zebra, 
hence  their  name,  "  zebra  trout,"  of  which  it  is 
said  that  at  one  time  they  lived  in  a  stream  at 
Ringwood,  New  Jersey,  on  the  estate  of  Hon. 
Abram  S.  Hewitt,  where  they  were  the  result  of 
a  cross  between  our  brook  trout  and  the  brown 
trout  as  in  England.  These  zebra  trout  are 
barren  and  greatly  subject  to  deformation ;  they 
rise  viciously  to  the  fly,  leaping  into  the  air  for 
it ;  they  also  leap  on  a  slack  line  when  hooked, 
the  latter  trait  being  one  I  have  never  seen 
shown  by  our  much  loved  red-spotted  charr. 
Crossing  the  salmon-trouts  with  the  charr-trouts 
results  in  mule  fish,  not  breeders ;  but  the  inter- 
breeding of  the  charrs  with  other  of  the  same 
genus  brings  forth  fertile  progeny,  and  crossing 
the  salmon-trouts  with  salmon-trouts  has  a 
similar  result. 


Lake  Leven  Trout  279 

Over  the  Lake  Leven  trout  (Salmo  levenensis), 
there  has  been  much  discussion  by  English 
anglers  and  ichthyologists,  as  to  its  being  a 
separate  species  from  the  brown  trout,  or  a  land- 
locked sea-trout  (Salmo  truttd).  No  decision 
has  been  reached  and  doubtless  never  will  be; 
fish  inhabit  an  element  in  which  we  cannot  exist, 
hence  our  knowledge  of  their  traits  is  mainly 
derived  by  stream  observation  from  the  banks 
of  the  waters,  and  in  the  tanks  or  pens  of  the 
fish  culturists ;  a  wild  fish,  however,  roaming  and 
foraging  in  its  native  waters,  is  apt  to  possess 
habits  widely  diverse  from  those  of  its  imprisoned 
congener. 

Loch  Leven  trout  were  introduced  from  Scot- 
land in  1885,  and  have  been  widely  distributed 
in  the  United  States,  and  are  now  propagated 
by  many  state  fish  commissions  with  success, 
the  foreign  fish  spawning  about  the  same  time 
as  the  red-spotted  trout.  It  is  about  equal  in 
fighting  qualities  to  our  Eastern  species,  rising 
well  to  the  artificial  fly,  with  a  peculiar  qualifi- 
cation of  this  habit  in  its  native  habitat,  where 
it  seems  that  two  trout  of  distinct  colorations 
exist,  one  silver  and  the  other  yellow.  These 
fish  are  said  to  rise  to  the  fly  on  alternate  days, 


28o  The  T routs  of  America 

neither  encroaching  upon  the  hours  in  which 
his  brother,  or  sister,  is  feeding.  The  Loch 
Leven  trout  grows  to  the  size  of  four  pounds, 
but  the  average  is  about  a  pound  or  slightly 
over.  They  take  the  fly  best  and  give  great 
play  at  three  years  of  age. 

The  native  habitat  of  this  species  of  foreign 
salmon-trouts  is  in  Scotland,  and  the  fish  takes 
its  name  from  the  now  ruined  castle  in  which 
Mary  Queen  of  Scots  was  confined  by  Queen 
Elizabeth,  and  from  the  waters  of  the  adjacent 
lake  —  Loch  Leven.  This  trout  was  brought  to 
America  about  fifteen  years  ago,  and  has  been 
planted  in  many  waters  in  the  Eastern  and  West- 
ern states  with  a  measure  of  success.  It  is  a 
beautiful  and  gracefully  formed  fish,  and  although 
closely  allied  to  the  brown  trout,  it  may  be  readily 
distinguished  from  it  by  the  absence  of  red  spots, 
which  are  always  distinctly  seen  on  the  body  of 
the  brown  trout.  However,  it  is  reported  that 
faint  reddish  spots  appear  on  the  sides  and  back 
of  the  Lock  Leven  form  when  the  fish  reaches 
an  age  of  about  four  years.  This  absence  of  red 
spots  when  the  Scottish  fish  is  less  than  four 
years  old  seems  to  be  a  matter  of  fact  with  Brit- 
ish anglers ;  but  as  the  Loch  Leven  trout  seldom 


WHERE   THE    BIG   ONES   LIE 


Sea- Trout  of  Europe  281 

grows  beyond  three  pounds  and  consumes  four 
years  in  getting  to  be  about  two  pounds  in 
weight,  but  little  confusion,  in  recognizing  either 
species,  will  occur  over  this  red-spot  theory,  or 
fact,  as  the  case  may  be. 

Another  foreign  salmon-trout,  "the  sea-trout  of 
Europe  "  (Salmo  trutta,  the  specific  name  being 
the  derivative  from  which  the  word  "  trout " 
arises),  has  been  sparingly  introduced  and  reared 
in  American  waters.  It  must  not  be  confused 
with  the  native  sea-trout,  which  is  a  charr,  the 
difference  between  the  two  fishes  being  plainly 
indicated  by  the  location  of  the  teeth  on  the  roof 
of  the  mouth,  as  has  been  explained  in  a  previous 
chapter.  Various  popular  names  have  been  given 
to  this  fish,  such  as  "guiniad,"  "bull-trout,"  and 
"  salmon-trout."  Its  habits  are  similar  to  those 
of  our  indigenous  sea-trouts ;  it  is  migratory,  and 
is  found  running  up  streams  emptying  into  the 
Baltic  and  North  seas,  and  in  those  of  Great  Brit- 
ain, being  very  numerous  in  Scottish  waters;  it 
also  runs  up  the  Seine  and  Loire  in  France, 
where  it  is  called  truite  de  mer,  and  is  not  infre- 
quently taken  on  the  southern  shores  of  the  Cri- 
mea. It  hybridizes  with  other  salmonoids,  and 
that  fact  is  one  of  the  primary  causes  of  the  great 


282  The  Trout s  of  America 

diversity  of  European  forms  and  colorations  in 
the  salmonidae  family.  To  this  fish  properly 
belongs  the  name  of  salmon-trout.  It  is  a  game 
fighter,  yet  is  apt  to  take  a  troll  of  natural  min- 
now or  an  artificial  phantom  more  readily  than 
the  feathers  placed  ever  so  gingerly  by  the  fly- 
caster. 


CHAPTER   VI 

THE  CHARR-TROUTS,  THEIR  HABITS,  EXTERNAL 
MARKINGS,  AND  CLASSIFICATION —  THE  GREAT 
LAKE  TROUTS  AND  METHODS  OF  CAPTURE  — 
THE  EASTERN  BROOK  TROUT,  DEVELOPMENT 
AND  EXTENT  OF  THEIR  SENSE  OF  SIGHT,  HEAR- 
ING, TASTE,  SMELL,  AND  TOUCH 

THERE  are  two  genera  of  the  salmonoids,  popu- 
larly called  brook  trouts,  that  are  more  highly  or- 
ganized than  the  salmon-trouts ;  they  are  known 
as  charrs.  They  live  and  thrive  in  wild  waters  of 
a  temperature  not  more  than  sixty-five  degrees, 
and,  in  whatever  stream  they  may  be,  they  con- 
stantly seek  the  higher  reaches  to  spawn.  If  the 
mouth  of  their  home  waters  is  not  distant  from, 
and  is  in  junction  with,  a  salt  estuary  with  no 
physical  impediment,  so  soon  as  the  ice  forms  in 
the  stream  the  brook  trout  goes  down  into  deeper 
water,  and  subsequently  migrates  and  adapts 
itself  to  living  in  the  water  of  the  sea.  Below 
the  southern  line  of  the  state  of  New  York  there 
appears  to  be,  however,  a  barrier  of  warmer  water 
into  which  the  brook  trout  does  not  enter,  in 

283 


284  The  Trouts  of  America 

despite  of  the  strong  natural  instinct  of  the  fish 
to  migrate  to  "  bitter  water,"  as  the  Germans  call 
it.  In  New  England,  Canada,  and  also  along  the 
south  shore  of  Long  Island,  one  of  these  chairs 
(fontinalis)  goes  down  to  the  estuaries  and  feeds, 
grows  lusty,  getting  flesh  of  deeper  salmon  color 
and  a  more  robust  form,  and  remains  in  his  new 
habitat  until  the  instinct  of  spawning  impels  him 
to  migrate  in  the  following  spring  inward  and 
upward.  Other  fresh-water  fish  find  a  congenial 
habitat  in  salt  water.  This  habit  is  strikingly 
shown  in  the  so-called  pike  of  Chesapeake  Bay, 
which  is  the  Eastern  pond  pickerel  (Lucius 
reticulatus)  of  the  fresh  waters  east  of  the  Alle- 
ghanies.  In  some  of  the  bays  and  estuaries  of 
the  New  Jersey  coast  this  pickerel  exhibits  the 
same  inclination  for  a  salt-water  life.  The  black 
basses  also  find  the  brackish  waters  congenial ; 
and  this  peculiarity  is  not  confined  to  the  large- 
mouthed  black  bass  of  Florida,  in  the  waters  of 
which  state  many  of  the  fishes  of  the  rivers  and 
numbers  of  those  which  habitually  live  in  salt 
water,  interchange  temporary  habitats. 

The  most  prominent  external  marking  by 
which  the  salmon-trouts  and  charrs  may  be  dis- 
tinguished apart,  is  the  presence  of  red  or  crim- 


Native  Cbarrs  285 

son  spots  on  the  body,  the  only  exceptions  being 
the  Great  Lake  trout  with  grayish  markings,  and 
the  Arctic  trout  (Salvelinus  arcturus),  upon  which 
no  reddish  spots  have  been  found ;  further  inves- 
tigation will,  doubtless,  show  that  this  peculiarity 
of  the  latter  charr  does  not  exist,  for  reversals  of 
stated  facts  have  occurred  frequently  in  ichthyic 
annals,  and  such  is  more  likely  in  this  case, 
as  the  Arctic  trout  has  the  most  northern  habi- 
tat of  any  of  the  salmonoids,  and  only  a  few 
specimens  have  been  examined  by  specialists.  I 
have  on  a  previous  page  differentiated  the  charr 
from  the  brown  trout,  the  only  salmon-trout  hav- 
ing persistent  red  spots  in  our  waters.  The  loca- 
tion of  the  teeth  has  been  previously  described  as 
serving  for  a  mark  of  identification ;  those  on  the 
hyoid  bone  (base  of  the  tongue)  are  said  to  be 
always  present  in  specimens  inhabiting  streams 
south  of  New  York,  while  they  are  only  occasion- 
ally found  on  trout  living  farther  to  the  north. 

There  are  thirteen  species  and  subspecies  of 
native  charrs  in  American  waters  and  two  im- 
ported species  from  Europe.  They  are  classified 
as  follows :  — 

The  Great  Lake  trout,  —  Cristivomer  namaycush  (Walbaum) . 
The  Siscowet,  —  Cristivomer  namaycush  siscowet  ( Agassiz) . 


286  The  Trouts  of  America 

The  Brook  or  red-spotted  trout,  — 

Salvelinus  fon  tinalis  (Michill) . 
The  Dublin  Pond  trout,  — 

Salvelinus  fontinalis  agassizii  (Garman). 
The  Dolly  Varden  trout ;  Oregon  charr ;  bull  trout ;  malma ; 

golet,  —  Salvelinus  parkei. 

The    European   charr;    saibling;    ombre   chevalier;    Green- 
land charr,  —  Salvelinus  alpinus. 
The  Long-finned  charr,  — 

Salvelinus  alpinus  alipes  (Richardson). 

The  Greenland  charr,  — 

Salvelinus  alpinus  stagnalis  (Fabricius). 

The  Arctic  charr,  —  Salvelinus  alpinus  arcturus  (Giinther) . 
The  Sunapee  trout,  —  Salvelinus  alpinus  aureolus  (Bean). 

The  Oquassa  trout  or  blueback,  — 

Salvelinus  oquassa  (Girard). 

The  Naresi  trout,  —  Salvelinus  oquassa  naresi  (Gtinther). 
The  Lac  de  Marbre  trout,  — 

Salvelinus  oquassa  marstoni  (Garman). 

The  imported  species  are  :  — 

The  Swiss  Lake  trout  of  Lake  Geneva,  —  Salvelinus  lemanus. 
The  European  charr  or  saibling,  — 

Salvelinus  alpinus  (Linnaeus). 

The  first  of  this  series  of  fifteen  charr  trouts 
is  the  Great  Lake  trout  (Cristivomer  namaycush 
—  the  generic  name  is  from  the  Latin,  crista, 
"  crest,"  vomer,  "  vomer,"  in  allusion  to  the  struc- 
ture of  the  bone  on  the  roof  of  the  mouth ;  the 
specific  title  is  an  Indian  name).  This  charr  is 


Great  Lake  Trout  287 

rich  in  baptismal  nomenclature ;  it  is,  in  addition 
to  the  name  of  Great  Lake  trout,  called  Mackinaw 
trout  in  the  region  of  the  Great  Lakes.  In  other 
sections  of  the  Northwest  it  is  known  as  the 
"  namaycush  " ;  it  is  the  "  siscowet  "  or  "  sisko- 
witz  "  in  some  parts  of  Lake  Superior,  and  in  the 
northern  part  of  New  York  it  is  sometimes  called 
"lake  salmon."  At  Green  Bay,  Wisconsin,  those 
that  have  salmon-colored  flesh  and  black  bodies 
are  called. "black  trout";  those  with  white  flesh, 
"  lake  trout " ;  around  and  in  Traverse  Bay,  Michi- 
gan, the  variety  taken  in  shallow  water,  being 
long  and  slender  in  form,  is  called  "  reef  trout," 
and  when  larger  it  is  known  as  "  a  racer,"  and 
specimens  of  another  variety  are  called  "  pot- 
bellies." At  Grand  Haven,  Michigan,  they  are 
known  as  shoal-water  and  deep-water  trout,  and 
"  buckskins "  is  the  name  given  them  around 
Thunder  Bay  in  Lake  Huron.  Coming  east  we 
find  that  "  togue "  is  the  general  name  in  most 
sections  of  New  England,  except  in  Maine  where 
"  lunge  "  is  the  accepted  appellative  with  a  good 
many  fishermen.  In  Canada  we  hear  applied 
the  name  of  "  forked-tail  trout "  ;  "  lunge  "  in 
New  Brunswick,  and  "  tulade "  very  generally 
in  the  Eastern  Provinces;  in  other  sections  the 


288  The  Trouts  of  America 

names,  "tyrant  of  the  lake,"  "silver  lunge,"  and 
"  black  salmon "  prevail,  and  last,  not  least,  the 
euphonious  title  of  "masamacush"  represents  the 
Indian  idea  of  the  proper  name  for  the  Great 
Lake  trout. 

As  a  compensation  for  this  mass  of  popular 
and  confusing  names,  this  fish  is  without  doubt 
the  most  easy  of  recognition,  for  it  stands  alone 
as  a  charr  in  its  characteristic  structure,  of  which 
the  bone  on  the  roof  of  the  mouth  is  the  most 
striking;  it  is  a  raised  crest  armed  with  teeth, 
lying  behind  the  vomer  and  free  from  its  shaft, 
and  a  finger  placed  in  the  mouth  of  the  fish  will 
at  once  reveal  this  crest,  also  the  presence  on  the 
base  of  the  tongue  of  a  strong  band  of  teeth, 
coarse  and  sharp  like  a  wool  card. 

The  head  of  the  lake  trout  is  very  long,  the 
upper  part  somewhat  flattened,  the  mouth  is 
large;  tail  well  forked  and  the  adipose  or  fatty 
fin  is  comparatively  small.  The  coloration 
varies  greatly ;  sometimes  it  is  a  dark  gray,  then 
pale,  and  occasionally  specimens  are  taken  that 
are  nearly  black ;  this  coloration  is  frequently 
seen  when  lake  trout  are  confined  in  the  pens  of 
fish  culturists.  Over  the  entire  body  will  be 
found  pale  spots,  which  are  sometimes  tinged 


Great  Lake  Trout  289 

with  red,  and  on  the  head  are  usually  seen  worm- 
like  markings  somewhat  similar  to  the  mottlings 
on  the  back  of  fontinalis.  It  is  a  large  fish, 
growing  to  a  reputed  weight  of  one  hundred 
pounds ;  but  the  average  of  those  caught  by  hook- 
and-line  fishermen  during  a  long  summer's  out- 
ing will  average  hardly  six  pounds. 

The  lake  trout  comes  to  the  surface  very 
early  in  the  spring,  and  in  states  where  the  law 
permits,  the  angler  trolls  for  them  on  or  near  the 
top  of  the  water,  the  fish  making  a  "  boil "  and 
taking  the  lure  viciously,  but  rarely  jumping  into 
the  air,  unlike  the  brook  trout,  which,  when  de- 
ceived in  its  judgment  as  to  the  position  of  the 
bait,  and  missing  it,  will  often  make  a  graceful 
archlike  curve  as  it  reenters  its  element.  The 
proper  tackle  for  surface  trolling  consists  of  a 
very  light  sinker,  a  twelve-thread  cotton  line,  a 
No.  5  spoon,  from  which  is  taken  all  the  gang 
hooks,  and  a  single  No.  8  substituted,  the  latter 
to  be  attached  to  the  lower  end  of  the  spoon  by 
a  snood  six  to  eight  inches  long  (the  use  of 
treble  gang  hooks  is  to  be  abominated  at  all 
times  and  for  any  fish);  a  good  multiplying  reel 
and  an  eight-ounce  rod,  not  longer  than  nine 
feet ;  the  bait  a  golden  shiner  or  any  other  of  the 


290  The  Trouts  of  America 

cyprinoids  (carplike),  and  a  large  one  of  six  or 
eight  or  even  ten  inches,  if  the  lake  trout  run 
big,  is  most  seducing  to  them.  Many  anglers 
do  not  use  the  spoon,  relying  entirely  upon  the 
attractiveness  of  the  natural  bait ;  but  my  experi- 
ence has  convinced  me  that  the  revolving  wings 
or  flanges  of  a  bright  spinner  draws  the  atten- 
tion of  fish  to  the  bait  from  a  long  distance,  and 
that,  when  reaching  it,  they  take  the  minnow 
voraciously,  seldom  striking  at  the  spoon. 

The  question  as  to  the  lake  trout  taking  an 
artificial  fly  when  cast  on  the  surface  has  been 
a  vexed  subject  of  discussion  among  anglers. 
In  my  judgment  and  experience  it  is  merely 
one  of  where  we  find  the  lake  trout.  If  at  the 
mouths  of  large  rivers,  such  as  the  Nepigon,  or 
in  comparatively  shallow  waters  over  ledges  of 
rocks  in  the  lakes,  during  the  early  spring 
months,  or  in  the  case  of  the  river  just  named 
or  similar  ones,  some  miles  upward  from  their 
mouths,  the  lake  trout  will  surely  take  an  artifi- 
cial fly.  This  has  been  verified  by  anglers  of 
high  standing  and  of  undoubted  good  faith, 
who  used  flies  dressed  on  No.  8  hooks  and  of 
the  patterns  known  as  Seth  Green,  Bishop,  and 
Silver  Doctor. 


Great  Lake  Trout  291 

The  deep-water  troll  requires  more  elaborate 
tackle  than  that  used  in  surface  fishing.  Attach 
a  cone-shaped  sinker  to  the  end  of  the  reel  line 
of  not  less  than  three  and  from  that  weight  up 
to  sixteen  ounces,  the  size  being  dependent  on 
the  character  of  the  bottom  of  the  water  you 
are  fishing  and  the  style  of  fishing  you  pre- 
fer—  a  long  or  a  short  line;  if  the  bottom  is 
full  of  rocks,  jagged  in  shape  or  crowded  in 
position,  your  line  should  be  strong  and  your 
sinker  comparatively  small ;  the  same  holds  good 
if  on  smooth  bottoms  when  you  fish  "  slow  and 
far  off  " ;  if  you  have  a  penchant  for  fishing  with 
a  short  line,  your  sinker  must  necessarily  be 
heavy.  You  will  need  no  rod ;  the  line  held  in 
the  hand  will  enable  you  to  be  more  sensitive 
to  the  slightest  touch  of  the  lead  on  the  bottom, 
which  you  must  feel  as  your  boatman  rows 
slowly  and  regularly  along.  If,  however,  you 
wish  to  use  a  rod,  lay  it  down  within  convenient 
reaching  distance,  holding  the  line  in  your  hand, 
and  when  you  feel  the  pluck  of  a  fish  and  fasten 
it  well,  take  up  the  rod,  being  careful  to  keep 
the  proper  strain  on  the  fish  when  lifting  the 
rod.  Three  feet  above  the  sinker  attach  a 
single  or  double  twisted  leader  (average  weight 


292  The  Trouts  of  America 

of  fish  that  are  feeding  should  determine  its 
character)  and  two  other  leaders  placed  above 
the  first,  from  six  to  ten  feet  apart,  the  distance 
to  be  judged  by  the  depth  at  which  the  lake 
trout  are  taking  the  bait.  A  gang  of  three 
hooks  is  usually  placed  at  the  end  of  each  leader, 
but  a  lip  hook  and  another  larger  one  are  to 
be  commended  as  more  sportsmanlike.  Place 
swivels  wherever  needed,  and  let  your  sinker 
line  be  three  feet  long  and  weaker  than  the  reel 
line,  so  in  case  of  getting  hooked  among  the 
bottom  rocks  or  a  snag  you  will  only  lose  the 
sinker.  Bait  with  a  large  minnow  as  suggested 
in  surface  trolling,  and  above  all  things  charge 
your  boatman  to  row  slowly  and  with  a  cadenced 
movement. 

"  Baiting  a  buoy "  is  a  favorite  method  with 
some  fishermen,  and  it  is  very  similar  to  the 
English  practice  of  "ground  baiting."  Anchor 
a  buoy  strongly  in  deep  water,  and  when  it  is 
in  position  throw  over  and  around  it  cut  pieces 
of  meat  or  fish  of  any  kind ;  in  one  instance  in 
the  Fulton  Chain,  New  York,  a  hind  quarter  of 
venison  was  successfully  used.  Bait  the  buoy  for 
two  or  three  days,  then  let  a  day  or  two  inter- 
vene, and  fish  on  the  following  one.  An  ingen- 


Great  Lake  Trout  293 

ious  angler  when  fishing  at  a  buoy,  after  his  boat 
is  fast  to  it,  throws  over  at  regular  intervals 
of  a  few  minutes  a  handful  of  white  beans 
which,  as  they  sink,  appear  to  attract  the  fish. 
Use  a  heavy  sinker,  bait  with  a  dead  minnow 
and  keep  it  in  motion  by  jerking  or  jigging 
it  up  and  down  for  a  foot  or  eighteen  inches 
from  the  bottom. 

There  is  another  form  of  the  lake  trout  popu- 
larly known  as  the  "  siscowet "  or  "  siskowitz  " 
(Cristivomer  namaycush  siscowet\  which  is  said 
to  be  only  found  in  Lake  Superior.  It  has  a 
shorter  head,  but  the  same  general  coloration 
as  its  cousin  the  lake  trout,  and  there  are  no 
material  structural  differences  between  the  two 
fish  other  than  the  shortness  and  breadth  of 
the  head  and  the  unusual  fatness  of  the  flesh  of 
the  siscowet ;  the  deeper  the  water  in  which  the 
fish  is  found  the  greater  the  richness  of  the 
flesh.  The  market  fishermen  of  Lake  Superior 
recognize  two  species  or  forms  of  the  siscowet, 
one  living  in  water  six  hundred  to  a  thousand 
feet  in  depth,  of  which  Mr.  R.  O.  Sweeny  states 
that  at  this  enormous  depth  the  pressure  on  the 
wooden  pieces  of  the  nets  used  in  catching  the 
siscowet  causes  these  symmetrical  blocks  of 


294  The  Trouts  of  America 

wood,  sunk  only  a  few  hours  before,  to  become 
so  crushed  and  broken  as  to  be  useless  there- 
after. The  fish  at  this  great  depth  feed  on 
myriads  of  worms  that  swarm  on  the  blue  clay 
bottoms  of  certain  parts  of  the  lake,  and  get  so 
fat  that  when  brought  to  the  surface  and  re- 
lieved from  the  great  pressure,  seem  ready  to 
burst;  in  fact,  some  of  the  fat  vesicles  become 
ruptured,  as  indicated  by  the  floating  oil  on  the 
water  at  and  around  the  spot  from  which  the 
fish  have  been  taken.  This  fish  is  caught  by 
the  rod-and-line  fishermen,  by  still  fishing,  and 
occasionally  at  baited  buoys. 

We  now  reach  the  charrs  proper  and  undefiled 
in  their  beauty  of  form,  velvety  richness  of  color- 
ation, the  chosen  of  anglers  and  the  gourmet. 

As  will  be  seen  from  the  schedule  pre- 
viously given,  the  American  charrs  consist  of 
two  genera,  five  species,  and  eight  subspecies  or 
varietal  forms.  Of  the  first  genus  (Cristivomer\ 
there  are  one  species  and  one  subspecies,  which 
are  popularly  known  as  the  Great  Lake  trout. 
The  other  genus  (Salvelinus)  includes  all  the 
charr  trouts  except  the  two  named  above.  This 
genus  is  subdivided  into  four  species,  and  again 
differentiated  into  seven  subspecific  forms :  that 


Division  of  Cbarrs  295 

of  fontinalis  into  one  subspecies,  the  Dublin 
Pond  trout  from  its  resemblance  in  structure 
and  markings  to  the  Eastern  brook  or  "  speckled 
trout " ;  that  of  alpinus  into  four  forms,  from 
their  anatomical  similarity  to  the  saibling  or 
the  charr  of  northeastern  America  and  of 
Europe.  These  four  subspecies  may  be  distin- 
guished from  fontinalis  on  sight  by  the  absence 
of  the  dark  mottlings  or  wormlike  markings 
on  the  back,  which  are  always  present  on  the 
"speckled  trout."  These  saiblings  are  popularly 
known  as  the  long-fined  charr,  the  Greenland 
charr,  the  Arctic  or  Floeberg  charr  (all  of 
Arctic  habitat),  and  the  Sunapee  trout.  The 
fourth  species  (Oquassa)  has  two  subspecific 
forms,  so  classified  because  they  are  anatomical 
analogues  of  the  typical  Oquassa  or  blueback 
trout  of  Maine;  they  are  popularly  known  as 
the  Naresi  trout  (Arctic  America)  and  the  Lac 
de  Marbre  trout  of  Canadian  lakes.  The  Dolly 
Varden  trout  (Salvelinus  parkei\  a  native  of 
Western  waters,  but  recently  introduced  to 
Eastern  habitats,  is  a  species  unto  itself  and 
has  no  close  relatives  as  yet  discovered,  if  we 
except  the  malma  trout  of  Kamchatka,  which, 
in  fact,  is  the  type  of  the  species;  it  is  techni- 


The  Trouts  of  America 

cally  known  as  Salvelinus  malma,  and  has  not 
been  found  in  any  other  waters  than  those  of 
Kamchatka. 

The  spawning  habit  of  trout  (fontinalis)  are 
similar  to  those  of  other  members  of  the  salmon 
family.  At  the  approach  of  winter  they  go  up  to 
the  head  waters,  or  as  near  them  as  the  conditions 
permit;  in  fact,  from  the  time  they  leave  the 
deeper  lower  waters,  to  which  they  resort  after 
spawning,  they  head  up-stream  constantly,  taking 
advantage  of  every  rise  in  the  brook.  The  repro- 
ductive instinct  impels  them  to  do  this,  and  as 
the  warmer  months  come  this  feeling  grows 
stronger  and  stronger,  and  although  they  seek  in 
hot  weather  the  health-giving  spring  hole  and  the 
cool  depth  of  a  pool  and  remain  there  for  some 
time,  they  are  apt,  as  soon  as  a  greater  volume  of 
water  pours  over  the  shallow  rapids,  to  look  for 
other  comfortable  quarters,  but  always  higher  up. 
It  is  the  practice  of  experienced  and  observing 
fly  fishermen  who  have  from  day  to  day  noted  the 
haunt  of  a  large  trout,  and  missed  his  presence 
there,  to  seek  for  him  in  the  next  likely  pool 
up-stream. 

Arrived  at  the  spawning  ground  in  October  or 
later  on,  the  female  shapes  with  industrious  care 


Tbe  Brook  Trout  297 

a  little  nest  in  the  gravel,  fanning  it  clean  with 
her  tail  and  removing  the  larger  pebbles  in  her 
mouth ;  the  male,  all  the  while,  moving  slowly  and 
gracefully  above,  below,  and  around  his  mate,  as  if 
to  let  her  see  and  admire  the  gorgeous  bridal 
robe  of  olive  velvet  and  gold  with  which  nature 
has  adorned  him.  After  displaying  for  a  few 
moments  with  a  natural  vanity  the  beauty  of  his 
nuptial  array,  approaches  her,  rubs  his  body 
against  her  side;  and  soon  after  she  enters  the 
nest,  emits  a  few  eggs,  which  the  male  fertilizes 
by  ejecting  milt  upon  them.  This  process 
continues  until  the  reproductive  act  is  ended. 
Scarcely  five  per  cent  of  the  ova  of  the  female  is 
productive,  owing  to  several  causes,  the  main  one 
being  the  destruction  of  the  eggs  by  the  hordes  of 
minnows  and  other  spawn-eating  water  animals ; 
the  trout,  both  male  and  female,  leaving  the  ova 
unprotected  immediately  after  spawning. 

The  type  of  the  thirteen  varietal  forms  of  the 
charrs  is  the  brook  beauty  of  the  Atlantic  slope 
—  Salvelinus  fontinalis,  "  living  in  springs."  It 
is  the  fish  beloved  by  American  anglers,  an 
ichthyic  confuser  of  the  savants  of  the  last 
decade  in  their  desire  to  reduce  the  charrs  of 
our  waters  into  one  polymorphic  species,  which 


298  Tbe  Trouts  of  America 

has  resulted  in  multiplying  them ;  the  objective 
quarry  for  the  skilled  and  the  tyro  in  their 
mountain  outings ;  and  the  favorite  fish  of  the 
old  masters  of  the  art  in  America,  Thad  Norris, 
Seth  Green,  Prime,  Inskeep,  and  others.  We 
do  not  and  can  not  wonder  at  their  choice  when 
we  take  this  charr  in  hand  and  glance  at  its 
symmetrical  form  —  a  cleaver  of  the  water  — 
and  the  varied  hues  of  its  mellowed  coloration, 
diffused  in  softness  of  tone  over  its  entire  body, 
with  no  jarring  flash  of  color  to  mar  its  fulness 
of  beauty. 

In  structure  fontinalis  is  fitted  for  its  wild 
life  in  the  tumultuous  mountain  brooks,  fitted 
to  breast  the  rushing  rapids,  wherein  it  poises, 
self-contained  in  body,  and  apparently  in  spirit; 
motionless  often  in  a  ten-mile  torrent,  awaiting 
the  drowned  or  struggling  insect  or  more  sub- 
stantial food  surf  ace- washed  by  a  rise  of  water. 
Impelled  by  the  spawning  instinct,  it  seeks  the 
upper  waters  in  the  last  days  of  summer  and 
early  fall;  its  vigor  of  muscle  enables  it  to  get 
to  them,  bruised  and  somewhat  torn  of  fine  sym- 
metry though  it  be  by  its  nuptial-seeking  jour- 
ney. It  will  leap  over  and  sometimes  swim  up 
the  centre  of  three  feet  of  water  of  a  dam  over 


The  Brook  Trout  299 

which  a  downpour  twelve  or  more  inches  in 
volume  is  ceaselessly  passing,  and,  in  strong  con- 
trast with  this  muscular  attainment,  and  appar- 
ently enjoying  the  relief  from  a  morning's  work, 
like  a  schoolboy  in  his  noonday's  recess,  this 
trout  can  be  seen  in  a  quiet  pool  above  the 
dam  disporting  and  leaping  leisurely  and  lazily 
from  the  water ;  and  I  have  found  them  when  at 
play  —  it  can  be  called  by  no  other  name —  to 
disdain  all  feathered  or  natural  lures;  they  are 
having  a  holiday,  and  a  full  stomach  would,  as 
it  were,  handicap  their  acrobatic  enjoyment. 
When  the  nuptial  season  is  over,  our  mountain 
charr  goes  down-stream  to  deeper  water,  often 
fifty  to  one  hundred  miles  below  the  spawning 
bed,  to  recuperate  from  the  effects  of  reproduc- 
tion, and  early  in  the  spring  months  can  be  taken 
miles  below  the  confluents  in  which  it  repro- 
duced its  kind  and  lived  the  greater  part  of  its 
life. 

No  other  fish  known  to  anglers  possess  habits 
so  free  from  grossness  as  the  brook  trout  of  the 
East.  His  primary  need  is  oxygen,  and  he  seeks 
it  where  it  is  found  in  greatest  quantities  —  the 
upper  reaches  of  strongly  aerated  mountain 
streams.  There  you  will  find  him  in  the  full 


300  The  Trout s  of  America 

fruition  of  game  qualities.  Cast  a  fly  to  him, 
and  when  hooked  he  seems  to  know,  unlike  his 
congener  of  larger  waters,  every  rift,  nook,  rooted 
hole,  and  protruding  or  shelving  boulder  of  his 
rock-ribbed  environment ;  and  this  knowledge  of 
his  home  waters  is  put  to  practical  use,  —  roots, 
rocks,  holes,  and  shallows  are  frantically  sought 
as  resources  of  protection  or  escape ;  and  when 
you  hold  him,  seemingly  exhausted,  hard  and 
fast  in  your  hand,  to  take  the  hook  from  the 
mouth,  he  will  draw  his  muscles  tense  and 
strong  in  a  final  effort  for  liberty,  —  no  other 
game  fish,  to  my  knowledge,  make  this  powerful, 
convulsive  struggle  after  capture  and  apparent 
exhaustion. 

It  is  in  a  stream  like  the  one  described  above 
that  trout  are  compelled  to  forage  vigorously 
and  industriously  for  food,  often  on  restricted 
pastures ;  and  the  wear  and  tear  of  vitality  when 
living  in  precipitous  waters  is  constantly  at 
work  on  the  muscles  and  the  arterial  system ; 
neither  can  find  rest  where  no  deep  pools 
abound  to  which  the  fish  can  retire  for  security, 
repose,  and  digestion ;  moreover,  if  a  relatively 
deep  shelter  from  the  boiling  waters  exist  here 
and  there,  it  will  doubtless  be  preempted  by  a 


The  Brook  Trout  301 

larger  fish  of  the  same  ilk,  the  autocrat  of  the 
pool,  whose  simple  presence  is  a  sign  mark  — 
"  No  trespass  here." 

Gifted  with  aesthetic  proclivities,  and  as,  we 
have  seen,  at  the  same  time  exhibiting  those  of 
the  athlete,  the  trout  has  been  accused  of  being 
a  coarse,  if  not  a  gross,  feeder,  because  he  has 
been  known  to  eat  small  water  snakes.  True, 
he  is  somewhat  of  a  glutton,  for  I  have  seen  a 
trout  on  more  than  one  occasion  take  a  fly  with 
the  tail  of  a  minnow  protruding  from  his  mouth. 
We  also  know  that,  with  the  stomach  apparently 
filled  to  repletion,  they  will  rise  lazily  to  a  fly 
and  flop  it  with  the  tail  to  drown  or  disable  it 
and  then  leave  it  floating  down-stream.  But 
this  only  shows  that  the  choicest  of  the  trout's 
menu  is  irresistible  to  our  water  sprite,  and  he 
may  be  in  this  respect  likened  unto  the  gourmet, 
who  dallies  with  dainty  bits  when  he  is  gorged 
with  the  daintiest  of  them.  Moreover,  our 
stream  beauty  will  not  touch  carrion  of  any 
description;  his  food  must  be  of  the  air  born, 
or  of  the  stream  fresh  and  pure,  and  as  to  his 
eating  snakes,  snakes  eat  trout,  big  and  little,  if 
they  can  capture  and  swallow  them,  but  it  is  to 
be  doubted  very  much  if  our  charr  could  be 


302  The  Trouts  of  America 

tempted  to  eat  a  crumb  of  garlic,  or  even  a  piece 
of  carp  when  dressed,  condimented,  and  cooked 
in  the  German  style.  He  is  like  all  land  animals, 
including  the  genus  homo ;  when  hungry  he  will 
eat  whatever  he  can  get  if  the  food  be  not 
repulsive  from  over  ripeness,  and  it  must  not  be 
forgotten  that  this  quality  is  sought  for  by  many 
epicures  among  us,  who  are  blase  in  all  things, 
including  appetite. 

The  technical  description  of  this  charr  by 
ichthyologists  agrees  substantially  with  the  ob- 
servations of  anglers  of  stream  experience.  The 
body  is  long,  little  compressed,  only  slightly  ele- 
vated, its  curved  lines  symmetrical  and  tapering 
posteriorly  to  its  large,  nearly  square,  and  power- 
ful tail  fin.  The  eye  is  also  large,  albeit  the  fish 
is  said  to  be  near-sighted ;  the  head  is  big  but  not 
long,  and  the  snout  somewhat  blunt,  the  space 
between  the  eyes  being  rather  broad.  The  mar- 
ring feature  of  this  clipper-built  fish  is  the  large 
mouth,  almost  cavernous ;  looking  at  it  in  pro- 
file, it  will  be  found  that  the  upper  jaw  reaches 
backward  beyond  the  eye.  This  condition  is 
characteristic  of  fontinalis,  and  with  the  dark 
vermiculations  on  the  back  will  serve  to  distin- 
guish it  at  once  from  the  other  charrs.  The  col- 


The  Brook  Trout  303 

oration  is  striking;  the  red  spots,  sometimes 
ocellated  with  blue,  are  brighter  or  fainter  under 
the  influence  of  a  dark  or  light,  temporary  or  per- 
manent, habitat ;  they  are  seldom  seen  on  the 
back,  but  those  on  the  sides  are  always  present 
and  irregularly  placed,  and  unlike  those  on  the 
German  or  brown  trout  they  are  seldom,  if  ever, 
located  in  a  regular  row  just  above  or  slightly 
below  or  directly  along  the  lateral  line.  The  belly 
is  usually  a  creamy  white,  and  all  of  the  body 
in  the  male  fish  during  the  spawning  season 
becomes  clothed  in  a  rich  orange-gold,  a  fit 
bridal  robe  for  this  pride  of  the  rills.  The  tex- 
ture and  appearance  of  the  skin  is  somewhat 
velvety,  and  the  mottled  fins  on  the  back,  with 
the  distinctive  light  bands  on  the  belly  fins,  in 
contrast  with  the  orange-golden  hue  of  the  sides, 
justifies  the  angling  phrase  so  often  heard  on  the 
stream  —  "  the  glow  of  the  trout." 

The  coloration  of  this  charr  presents  curious 
contrasts.  Some  become  dark  and  dingy  as  they 
grow  old  and  blind;  others  again  have  been 
found  without  red  spots  when  living  side  by  side 
with  their  congeners  of  brilliant  ones ;  and  others 
are  born  albinos.  The  cause  of  a  uniform  black 
or  blackish  coloration  in  fishes  living  in  surface 


304  Tbe  Trouts  of  America 

streams  is  due  to  the  action  of  the  nerve  of  the 
eye  on  the  color  glands,  for  when  the  fish  be- 
come blind  they  always  assume  a  dark  coloration ; 
when  the  nerve  of  the  eye  ceases  to  act,  the  color 
glands  lose  their  motive  powers.  Through  our 
eyes  we  receive  perceptions  of  color,  shades,  or 
tints,  which  are  transmitted  to  the  brain ;  in 
fishes  through  the  same  medium,  the  nerve  of  the 
eye,  these  impressions  act  upon  the  color  glands, 
and  are  of  course  involuntary  and  entirely  beyond 
the  control  of  the  fish.  Upon  dark-colored  fishes 
living  in  cave-streams  or  underground  lakes,  a 
similar  cause  and  a  like  effect  constantly  exists ; 
the  fish  cannot  see,  for  they  live  in  perpetual 
night.  Why  trout  are  found  in  their  native 
waters  on  which  the  glare  of  the  sun  or  the  sub- 
dued light  of  the  forest  gloom  are  constant  condi- 
tions, the  fish  being  without  the  characteristic 
red  spots,  and  now  and  then  assuming  the  abnor- 
mal coloration  of  the  albino,  is  a  difficult  matter 
to  explain ;  it  doubtless  arises  from  the  defective 
action  of  the  nerve  of  the  eye  upon  the  color 
glands,  or  petals,  which  lie  under  the  scales  and 
which  open  and  shut  when  under  the  influence 
of  color  tints  conveyed  to  them  through  the 
delicate  nerve  of  the  eye ;  certain  nerve  fibres  in 


Coloration  305 

such  cases  producing  the  red  spots  on  the  trout 
and  the  diseased  condition  of  others  resulting  in 
albinos.  We  find  partial  parallels  in  the  man 
who  is  color  blind,  or  the  occasional  human 
albino,  and  in  the  negro  whose  skin  is  gradually 
turning  white,  instances  of  which  are  heralded 
in  medical  journals.  I  have  dwelt  somewhat  at 
length  upon  this  subject  of  change  of  coloration, 
as  many  otherwise  intelligent  anglers  persist  in 
believing  that  this  change  of  color  is  voluntary 
and  subject  at  all  times  to  the  whim  or  will  of  the 
fish.  They  are  in  error. 

In  this  connection  it  seems  apropos  to  allude 
to  the  preservation  of  the  color  of  a  live  trout 
after  capture,  that  it  might  be  mounted  as  a 
souvenir  of  a  delightful  or  memorable  outing. 
The  receipts  I  give  for  what  they  are  worth,  as 
my  experience  in  this  matter  is  entirely  confined 
to  dressing  the  fish  carefully,  wiping  it  dry,  and 
coating  the  body  with  glycerine,  which  preserves 
the  life  color  to  a  slight  extent.  Our  foreign 
brethren  of  the  rod  have  given  this  subject  con- 
siderable thought  and  practice;  one  of  them, 
living  in  Germany,  advises  that  the  fish  be  han- 
dled as  little  as  possible  after  capture,  to  kill  it 
before  extracting  the  hook  by  tapping  it  sharply 


306  The  Trouts  of  America 

on  the  back  of  the  head  with  a  round,  heavy 
stick,  then  wrap  the  trout  at  once  in  a  sheet  of 
waterproof  paper  and  pack  it  tightly,  the  back  fin 
up,  in  fresh  grass.  Another,  of  England,  believes 
in  covering  the  fish  with  tissue  paper  immediately 
after  capture,  then  rolling  it  in  a  damp  cloth  and 
packing  it  in  a  box  or  basket  with  soft  packing. 
A  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  angler  wrote  to  me :  "  To 
restore  the  brilliant  coloring  of  trout  after  they 
have  been  on  ice  for  a  number  of  days,  you  must 
place  them  in  strong  brine  with  plenty  of  cracked 
ice  in  it.  Let  them  remain  in  this  bath  five  to 
ten  minutes,  and  then  wash  carefully  in  the  brine 
until  all  the  adhering  slime  is  removed.  After 
drying  they  will  be  fully  as  brilliant  as  when  first 
caught." 

To  fish  a  trout  stream  with  success  the  angler 
should  not  only  possess  a  knowledge  of  the 
habits,  but  also  an  intelligent  idea  of  the  scope 
and  acuteness  of  the  senses  and  intelligence,  of 
the  quarry  he  is  seeking.  Unfortunately,  in  our 
efforts  to  acquire  this  knowledge  we  can  only 
depend  upon  unsatisfactory  observations,  and  to 
some  extent  on  analogy,  using  our  own  senses  as 
a  basis. 

Some  authorities  state  that  a  trout  is  a  very 


Sigbt  307 

near-sighted  fish,  and  limit  their  range  of  vision 
to  eight  or  ten  yards.  If  this  be  so,  and  it  is  a 
very  close  estimate,  open  to  dispute,  the  trout  has 
much  weaker  eyes  than  the  black  bass,  which  I 
have  seen  come  to  my  flies  from  a  distance  of  at 
least  forty-five  feet,  making  a  plainly  discernible 
wake  across  a  shallow  reach  of  the  river.  The  eye 
of  the  trout  is,  doubtless,  well  adapted  to  the  ele- 
ment in  which  it  lives.  It  has  no  eyelids,  but,  in 
lieu  of  them,  the  skin  of  the  head  passes  over 
the  eye  and  becomes  transparent.  The  cornea, 
the  admitter  of  light,  is  flat,  not  convex  as  in  the 
higher  animals,  —  a  wise  provision  of  nature  for 
the  protection  of  the  eye  in  the  battle  for  life 
waged  at  all  times  among  fishes.  The  reflective 
apparatus  of  the  eyeball  of  a  fish,  as  in  land  ani- 
mals, is  the  lens,  which  is  of  considerable  density 
and  size.  It  is  a  powerful  agent  in  reflecting  the 
rays  of  light,  and  were  it  not  for  the  density  of 
the  medium  in  which  it  lives,  the  trout  would 
doubtless  be  gifted  with  acute  vision  at  long 
range;  but  the  power  of  the  eye  in  fishes  can 
only  be  imperfectly  estimated  by  observation  of 
their  actions  from  the  banks  of  a  stream  or  other 
places ;  it  can  only  be  conjectured  as  to  what 
effect  the  water,  as  a  medium,  has  upon  the  organ 


308  Tbe  Trouts  of  America 

of  sight  in  a  fish.  The  shadow,  as  we  see  it  on 
the  surface  of  the  water,  of  a  passing  bird,  from 
which  apparently  the  trout  will  shy  and  seek  a 
shelter-hole,  may  not  be  the  shadow,  but  the  object 
itself  which  alarms  the  fish,  for  it  is  not  an  un- 
usual experience  on  a  trout  stream  to  seefontinalis 
leap  two  feet  at  least  into  the  air  in  its  efforts  to 
seize  an  insect  fluttering  over  the  pool.  Looking 
from  below  or  from  above  at  an  object  through 
water  as  a  medium,  it  seems  to  possess  character- 
istics widely  different  from  those  it  has  when 
seen  through  the  air;  this  was  verified  by  an 
ardent  angler  of  my  acquaintance,  who  wanted  to 
find  out  how  an  artificial  fly  appeared  in  its 
varied  hues,  to  a  fish  looking  at  it  from  below. 
He  filled  the  bath-tub  with  water  and  laid  on  his 
back  at  the  bottom,  having  previously  instructed 
a  friend  to  cast  a  White  Miller,  a  Black  Hackle, 
and  a  Yellow  Sally  on  the  surface  of  the  water. 
He  came  out  of  that  tub  no  longer  an  earnest 
colorist  of  feathered  lures,  as  he  had  formerly 
been ;  for  he  found  that  the  three  flies,  of  strongly 
contrasted  coloration,  appeared  to  his  eye  nearly 
all  alike,  differing  only  by  hardly  perceptible 
shades.  To  the  eye  of  the  fish  things  might 
have  been  reversed. 


Sight  309 

No  angler  has  ever  caught  on  a  mountain 
stream,  or  in  any  other  water,  a  blind  or  partially 
blind  trout,  that  was  in  good  physical  condition ; 
it  was  starving  because  it  could  not  see  to  feed. 
Observe  a  number  of  trout  in  a  stream  with 
their  heads  up  current;  how  they  dart  here 
and  there  at  every  small  object  that  floats  by 
them,  at  a  distance  often  of  ten  to  twenty 
feet,  and  then  nose  it,  and,  if  unfit  for  food, 
turn  tail  upon  it;  but  if  an  insect,  alive  or 
drowned,  comes  down  with  the  current,  they 
will  seize  and  swallow  it  with  avidity.  In  this 
case  there  is  a  combination  of  the  two  senses  — 
sight  and  taste. 

Again,  and  from  the  angling  standpoint,  why 
does  the  farmer's  boy  who  bushwhacks  the  trout 
from  behind  the  bushes,  or  the  cautious  angler, 
adopting  somewhat  similar  methods,  catch  more 
fish  than  one  who  splashes  down-stream,  when 
every  bottom  pebble,  sand  bar,  or  rock  is  glinting 
with  the  reflected  light  of  a  bright  noonday's  sun  ? 
Remember,  also,  that  when  fishing  up  a  small 
stream  in  a  dashing  rift,  the  tumult  of  which 
drowns  all  possible  noise  made  by  wading  against 
the  current,  that  trout  will  come  down,  scurrying 
past  the  fisher's  feet,  from  the  eddies  on  either 


310  The  Trouts  of  America 

side  of  the  rift  —  localities  where  the  heads  of  the 
fish  may  be  up  or  down  or  across  stream,  —  they 
evidently  could  not  hear  the  tread  of  the  feet, 
as  no  vibration  took  place,  and  the  roar  of  the 
rushing  rapid  drowned  the  sound  of  the  splashed 
water  by  the  feet  and  legs ;  hence  the  conclusion 
that  they  must  have  caught  a  glimpse  of  the 
angler  or  seen  the  threatening  movement  of  the 
rod  in  the  forward  cast. 

The  old  fly  fisherman,  knowing  the  acuteness, 
if  not  the  compass,  of  the  sense  of  sight  of  the 
trout,  when  fishing  down-stream,  always  leaves 
it  as  he  approaches  a  likely-looking  pool,  and 
makes  a  detour  around  to  reach  the  lower 
end,  and  then  casts  his  feathers,  first  upon  the 
comparatively  still  waters  below,  then  upward 
and  across  until  he  has  corduroyed  the  "  swim  " 
with  his  trailing  and  fluttering  flies.  The  result, 
as  a  rule,  is  marked  and  encouraging. 

I  sometimes  think  that  the  trout  and  the  black 
bass  have  an  intuition  of  the  presence  of  an 
angler  on  the  banks  of  a  pool.  They  may  not 
be  able  to  see  him  clearly,  but  his  form  on  the 
bank,  even  when  the  sun  is  full  in  his  face,  makes 
an  impression,  it  can  hardly  be  called  a  shadow, 
on  the  water  which  informs  the  wary  fins  that  an 


Hearing  311 

unusual  condition  exists  above,  more  particularly 
if  the  rod  is  in  action.  This  intuition  in  the  fish 
is  not  more  extraordinary  than  that  inspiring 
some  old  anglers,  especially  those  of  salt  water, 
"  to  strike  "  when  there  is  no  indication  of  "  the 
pluck  "  of  the  fish  at  the  bait.  Something  unac- 
countable, yet  felt,  is  going  on  down  in  the  depths, 
perhaps  a  slight  touch  of  the  reel  line  by  a  pass- 
ing fish  or  the  gentle  mouthing  of  the  lure,  with- 
out strain  or  movement,  by  a  surfeited  fish  —  the 
rodster  knows  not  what,  but  a  turn  of  the  wrist  is 
made  and  the  scaly  one  boated. 

Although  the  organ  of  hearing  in  fishes  is  but 
imperfectly  developed  anatomically,  its  acuteness 
is  much  more  marked  than  that  of  sight,  but  only 
through  the  water  as  a  medium,  and  then  only  by 
concussion  on  the  surface  of  it.  Boisterous  singing 
or  loud  talking,  the  volume  of  which  is  diffused 
in  the  air,  does  not  alarm  fishes ;  but  the  slightest 
disturbance,  stamping  of  the  feet  or  dropping  an 
oar  on  the  bottom  of  the  boat,  will  agitate  and 
drive  them  from  their  feeding-grounds.  They  do 
not  seem  to  be  affected  by  noises  originating  in 
the  water,  for  you  can  knock  two  heavy  stones 
against  each  other  under  the  water,  and  the  trout 
remain  placid  and  continue  their  feeding;  yet 


312  The  Trouts  of  America 

tread  ever  so  lightly  on  the  low  bank  of  a  pool, 
and  the  fish  are  affrighted. 

Again,  fish  do  not  seem  to  hear  any  sound  pro- 
duced by  concussion  on  the  bottom  of  a  pool,  of 
which  my  personal  experience  gave  an  instance. 
In  a  shallow  and  small  indentation  of  the  Schuyl- 
kill  River  (Pennsylvania),  where  some  years  ago 
fly  fishing  for  black  bass  was  glorious,  I  had 
moored  my  boat  to  a  stake,  the  upper  end  of 
which  protruded  about  two  feet  from  the  water. 
Having  occasion  to  visit  the  little  craft,  I  noticed 
three  or  four  eight  to  ten  inch  bass  lying  in 
repose  some  twenty  feet  away  from  the  stake,  and 
in  somewhat  deeper  water.  Experimentally,  I 
struck,  with  a  short,  heavy  stick  that  was  at  hand, 
the  top  of  the  stake  very  hard,  at  least  a  dozen 
times,  and  doubtless  created  a  strong  concussion 
between  the  bottom  of  the  river  and  the  stake. 
To  my  surprise  the  fish  remained  undisturbed. 
Going  ashore  quietly,  I  selected  a  flat  stone,  and 
threw  it  into  the  water,  at  least  fifty  feet  from  the 
spot  where  the  bass  were  lying,  and  on  returning 
stealthily  to  the  boat,  found  they  had  disappeared. 
In  the  first  instance  no  vibrations  on  the  bottom 
and  thence  upward  were  caused  by  hammering 
the  stake,  and  in  the  second,  sufficient  concussion 


Smell  and  Taste  313 

arose  from  the  surface  contact  of  the  stone  with 
the  water  to  alarm  the  fish.  Since  this  experi- 
ence, I  have  been  very  cautious  in  wading  a  trout 
stream,  always  sliding,  as  it  were,  instead  of  walk- 
ing on  the  bottom  of  it ;  stepping  and  splashing 
the  water,  hither  and  yon,  creates  a  concussion 
whenever  you  lift  your  feet  above  the  surface  for 
another  step  forward.  From  the  above  facts  it  is 
evident  to  me  that  the  hearing  of  fishes  is  devel- 
oped only  by  concussion,  except,  perhaps,  when 
they  are  feeding  on  the  surface  of  the  water,  or 
leaping  from  it. 

The  angler  cannot  resist  the  belief  that  the 
senses  of  smell  and  taste  are  well  developed  in 
trout.  They  eject  the  artificial  fly,  if  the  hook  is 
not  fast  in  the  flesh  at  the  instant  they  note  its 
non-edible  nature,  or  when  they  feel  the  gritty 
impact  of  the  hook.  They  will  not  eat  impure 
food,  and  they  have  the  faculty  of  perceiving 
odors,  and  various  scents  attract  or  repel  them. 
This  has  been  verified  from  the  earliest  days  of 
our  art,  when  ancient  rodsmen  used  diverse  and 
curious  pastes  and  oils,  which  were  seductive  to 
fish ;  in  Walton's  day  and  long  after  this  practice 
was  followed  and  the  records  tell  us  of  its  success. 
When  I  was  a  boy  and  the  Schuylkill  River  was 


314  The  Trouts  of  America 

swarming  with  the  small  white-bellied  channel  cat- 
fish, than  which  no  more  delightful  breakfast  food 
ever  came  out  of  the  water,  the  only  bait  used  to 
catch  them  was  made  of  Limburger  cheese,  mixed 
with  a  patch  of  cotton-batting  to  hold  it  firm  on 
the  hook.  No  other  lure  had  the  same  attraction 
for  them,  because,  no  doubt,  of  the  decided  odor 
of  the  cheese. 

The  so-called  fifth  sense,  that  of  touch,  is  as 
acute  in  trout  as  it  is  in  many  other  fresh-water 
fish.  Find  one  in  the  shadow  of  a  bank  or  shelv- 
ing rock,  and  touch  him  with  a  feather,  and  there 
is  nothing  to  be  seen  but  a  thread  of  silver  and 
gold  as  it  flashes  out  of  sight;  on  the  other 
hand,  and  under  somewhat  similar  conditions,  if 
the  trout  is  in  deep  repose  (that  is,  asleep,  for  no 
other  word  expresses  its  depth,  and  fish,  like 
all  other  animals,  must  have  their  periods  of  abso- 
lute rest),  you  will  be  able  to  pass  your  hand,  if 
gently  done  without  touching  the  body,  from  the 
tail  forward  until  your  fingers  reach  the  shoulder 
of  the  fish,  when  a  sudden  grasp  will  cause  its 
capture ;  this  is  called  "  tickling  a  trout,"  and  the 
practice  existed  long  before  the  advent  of  Walton. 
In  one  detail  of  the  manner  in  which  it  is  done, 
I  have  never  had  much  confidence  —  the  tickling 


THE    MICHIGAN    GRAYLING 


FIRST   DORSAL   FIN   OF    MICHIGAN    GRAYLING 
Reduced  one-half.     From  a  1J  )b.  fish 


Touch  3 1 5 

part,  wherein  one  of  the  fingers  must  scratch  or 
tickle  the  belly  of  the  fish,  to  make  the  hypnotism 
more  complete. 

In  the  foregoing  notes  I  have  taken  our  Eastern 
brook  trout  (fontinalis)  as  the  object  lesson,  that 
fish  being  best  known  to  me,  but  all  that  has  been 
written  will  apply  equally  well  to  the  other  species 
of  charr-trouts  living  in  fluvial  waters.  The 
reader  will,  I  hope,  take  what  I  have  written  as 
the  expression  only  of  opinion,  based  on  personal 
experience  and  observation.  I  do  not  intend  it 
to  be  in  the  least  degree  dogmatic. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  CHARR-TROUTS  CONTINUED ;  THE  DUBLIN  POND 
TROUT  — THE  DOLLY  VARDEN  TROUT  — THE  SEA 
TROUT,  "S  ALTERS  "  —  THE  SAIBLINGS  — THE  ALPINE 
OR  EUROPEAN  CHARR  OR  SAIBLING  — THE  GREEN- 
LAND CHARR  — THE  LONG-FINNED  CHARR  — THE 
FLOEBERG  CHARR— THE  ARCTIC  CHARR  — THE 
SUNAPEE  TROUT  — THE  OQUASSA  TROUT  — THE 
LAC  DE  MARBRE  TROUT. 

TAKING  the  other  charrs  seriatim,  we  first 
reach  the  Dublin  Pond  trout  of  New  England 
waters  (Salvelinus  fontinalis  agassizii\  which  is 
similar  in  structure  to  the  brook  trout  (fontinalis], 
but  differs  from  it  in  coloration,  being  pale  gray- 
ish and  almost  without  red  spots,  thus  resembling 
the  lake  trout  or  togue.  It  is  found  mainly  in 
Dublin  and  Centre  ponds  in  New  Hampshire, 
and  Mr.  A.  H.  Thayer,  a  resident  angler,  writes 
that  the  young  fish  are  "  as  beautiful  as  a  bar  of 
mother-of-pearl."  The  adult  fish  living  in  deep 
water  are  much  darker,  with  more  brilliant  red 
spots.  These  fish  have  somewhat  peculiar  traits 
as  viewed  from  an  angling  standpoint ;  the  young 

316 


Dolly  Varden  Trout  317 

will  take  the  fly  when  in  shallow  water  from 
about  May  20  to  June  10,  and  then  again 
in  the  spawning  season  from  September  15 
until  November  i.  The  early  summer  rise  to 
the  surface  and  their  sudden  disappearance  on 
or  about  the  tenth  day  of  June  is  strikingly 
similar  to  the  habit  shown  by  the  cisco  or  lake 
herring,  which  is  also  one  of  the  salmonoids. 
The  large  Dublin  Pond  trout  are  seldom  taken 
by  any  baits,  no  matter  how  deftly  handled  or 
alluring,  only  two  or  three  having  been  boated 
any  one  season. 

The  Dolly  Varden  trout  (Salvelinus  parkei\ 
with  its  coarser  and  more  popular  name  of  "  bull- 
trout," is  widely  distributed  in  the  western  waters 
of  the  Rocky  Mountain  watershed ;  it  is  found 
as  far  north  as  Alaska,  and  south  to  the  upper 
Sacramento  River,  thence  eastward  to  Montana 
and  Idaho  waters.  This  trout  has  a  stout  body, 
which  is  deep  and  less  compressed  than  that  of  the 
speckled  trout  of  the  East.  It  may  also  be  known 
by  the  size  of  the  adipose  or  fatty  fin,  which  is 
unusually  large,  and  the  round  red  spots  on  the 
sides,  those  on  the  back  being  paler  and  smaller ; 
this  characteristic  has  not  been  observed  in  any 
other  species  of  charr-trouts,  the  Dolly  Varden, 


318  The  Trouts  of  America 

however,  being  the  only  one  of  them  with  a  native 
habitat  west  of  the  Mississippi  River.  This 
peculiar  marking  will  enable  the  Western  angler 
to  distinguish  the  Dolly  Varden  from  our  Eastern 
trout  (fontinalis],  which,  perhaps,  has  been  pro- 
fusely planted  in  his  stream,  and  do  a  like  ser- 
vice to  the  Eastern  angler,  should  he  meet  with 
the  Western  charr  in  the  waters  east  of  the  Alle- 
ghanies,  where  it  will  probably  be  planted,  if  not 
already  introduced  in  isolated  cases. 

The  Dolly  Varden  is  somewhat  quaint  and 
rich  in  its  popular  nomenclature.  It  was  so  called 
by  the  wife  of  a  hotel  keeper  on  the  Sacramento 
River,  who,  seeing  the  bright  coloration  of  the 
fish  for  the  first  time,  exclaimed,  "  Why,  it  is 
a  Dolly  Varden !  "  in  allusion  to  the  variegated 
garb  in  which  Charles  Dickens  clothed  one  of  his 
heroines.  It  also  has  the  names  of  Oregon  charr, 
bull-trout,  red-spotted  trout,  malma,  and  golet. 
The  general  color  of  this  trout  is  olivaceous,  and 
the  fins  are  dusky  with  the  whitish  strip  in  front, 
as  appears  on  those  of  the  Eastern  charr;  but 
the  Dolly  Varden  is  without  the  wormlike  mark- 
ings on  the  back,  like  those  on  fontinalis. 
Sea-run  specimens,  growing  to  twelve  or  more 
pounds,  are  silvery  with  the  red  spots  either  faint 


Dolly  Varden  Trout  319 

or  lost  entirely.  I  have  seen  in  a  small  brook 
flowing  down  from  the  Sawtooth  Mountains  of 
southern  Idaho,  at  least  two  thousand  miles  from 
the  sea,  as  the  rivers  run,  a  Dolly  Varden  weigh- 
ing not  less  than  six  or  seven  pounds,  which  in 
the  shallow  water  showed  plainly  all  its  distinc- 
tive and  resplendent  coloration.  This  trout  was 
probably  a  sea-run  specimen,  which,  \fatfontinalis, 
on  its  return  from  salt  water  had  dropped  its 
robe  of  silver  for  one  of  more  brilliant  colors, 
which  it  had  worn  when  in  its  adolescence  and 
living  in  a  spring-water  habitat. 

None  of  the  salmon-trouts  or  charrs  rises  more 
freely  to  the  artificial  fly  than  the  Dolly  Varden  ; 
when  of  a  pound  or  so  in  weight,  they  have  been 
taken  with  trout  flies  tied  on  No.  8  Sproat  hooks, 
and  the  Dun  fly  and  March  Brown  are  generally 
alluring;  these  fish,  however,  are  not  fastidious 
in  their  feeding  habits.  In  Alaska  they  swarm 
around  the  mouths  of  rivers,  and  a  short  distance 
up-stream  is  the  best  locality  for  fly  fishing, 
although  they  have  been  taken  with  flies  in  salt 
water  along  the  comparatively  shallow  but  some- 
what abrupt  shores.  The  average  of  the  fish 
so  taken  seldom  exceeds  a  pound,  and  I  have 
yet  to  learn,  and  possibly  will,  of  a  sea-run  speci- 


320  The  Trouts  of  America 

men  of  ten  pounds  having  been  taken  with  a 
feathered  lure,  unless  its  attractiveness  was  reen- 
forced  by  a  bright,  spinning  spoon. 

The  Eastern  charr  that  goes  to  the  sea  is 
fontinalis,  the  Western  one  is  the  Dolly  Varden. 
The  effect  of  their  sojourn  in  salt  water  is  shown 
in  their  rapid  growth,  a  more  rounded,  thicker 
body,  and  the  striking  change  in  coloration. 
When  they  return  from  their  ocean  migrations, 
they  have  lost  all  their  characteristic  colors  that 
adorn  them  in  a  fresh-water  habitat,  and  become 
silvery  in  coloration,  but  assume,  when  belated,  as 
has  been  stated,  in  returning  to  salt  water,  their 
original  markings  and  colors.  There  is  no 
anatomical  difference  in  the  structure  of  the 
Eastern  sea-trout  from  that  seen  in  the  Eastern 
speckled  trout,  hence  the  former  has  no  specific 
classification  other  than  Salvelinus  fontinalis ; 
although  deprived,  as  it  has  been,  of  this  distinc- 
tion, it  displays  to  the  angler  qualities  on  the  rod 
that  entitle  it  to  a  high  grade  among  game 
fishes.  It  is  a  persistent  and  eager  riser  to  the 
artificial  fly,  and  grows  to  a  weight  of  six  or 
seven  pounds ;  and  when  taken,  as  it  often  is,  in 
a  salmon  pool  the  angler  is  apt  to  mistake  its 
strong  surges  for  those  of  a  small  but  sprightly 


Sea-Going  Trout  321 

salmon,  until  the  absence  of  aerial  flight  enlightens 
but  disappoints  the  rodster,  who  is  absorbed  and 
perhaps  attuned  to  fever  point  in  search  of  his 
first  salmon. 

Along  the  New  England  shores,  particularly 
those  of  Massachusetts  in  Barnstable  County  and 
in  the  salt  estuaries  and  bays  of  Long  Island,  on 
both  the  north  and  south  shores,  the  river-trout 
will  be  found  in  salt  water,  remaining  there  for 
some  months  and  returning  to  fresh  water  when 
the  spawning  instinct  impels  them.  These  fish 
also  undergo  to  some  extent  the  same  change 
in  form  and  coloration  as  prevails  among  the 
sea-trout  of  more  northern  sections,  whose  visits 
to  fresh  waters  seems  to  occur  only  twice  a  year, 
once  in  the  early  summer  months  and  again  in 
the  fall  to  spawn,  after  which  returning  to  the 
sea  and  remaining  there  through  the  winter.  In 
many  northern  localities,  however,  they  are  found 
in  the  bays  and  at  the  mouths  of  rivers  during 
nearly  the  entire  summer  months,  coming  in  and 
falling  back  as  the  tide  ebbs  and  flows,  and 
rarely  ascending  the  streams.  In  Massachusetts 
these  salt-water  migrators  are  called  "  salters  " ; 
in  all  other  sections,  "  sea-trout." 

There  are  one  species  and  four  subspecies  of 


322  The  T routs  of  America 

the  so-called  trouts,  which  are  recognized  spe- 
cifically as  saiblings  —  the  charrs  of  Europe, 
Salvelinus  alpinus.  These  fish  were  originally 
found  in  the  cold,  clear  lakes  of  the  Alpine  region 
and  of  Northern  Europe,  and,  when  subsequently 
discovered  in  America,  they  inhabited  like  waters, 
and  will  not  thrive  in  any  others.  By  the  name 
of  "saibling"  they  are  universally  known  in 
Germany ;  in  France  as  the  "  ombre  chevalier," 
and  in  England  as  "  charrs,"  and  among  American 
anglers  the  name  of  "  trouts  "  without  distinction 
of  species  is  generally  given  them.  The  saibling 
is  very  thoroughly  distributed  in  Northeastern 
America,  and  new  varietal  forms  are  not  in- 
frequently discovered  in  the  waters  of  New 
England  and  Canada ;  at  the  present  time  the 
varieties  are:  the  long-finned  charr,  the  Green- 
land charr,  the  Arctic  charr,  and  the  Sunapee 
trout,  in  all  of  which  the  anatomical  differences 
appear  to  be  slight,  but  the  coloration  varies 
greatly. 

The  type  of  the  saiblings,  as  we  find  them  in 
American  waters,  is  the  "  European  charr "  or 
"  saibling,"  Salvelinus  alpinus.  It  is  either  gray- 
ish or  greenish  on  the  back,  and  the  belly  is  red, 
particularly  in  the  male  during  the  spawning  sea- 


The  Saibling  323 

son ;  the  lower  fins  are  margined  with  a  white 
strip,  as  in  fontinalis,  but  unlike  it,  the  back  is 
not  marbled  or  vermiculated.  On  the  sides  of 
the  body  are  round,  red  spots  and  the  scales  are 
"  infinitely  little,"  hardly  if  ever  seen  by  the 
ordinary  naked  eye,  there  being  about  two  hun- 
dred of  them  placed  along  the  lateral  line  from 
the  gill  covers  to  the  base  of  the  tail  fin.  All 
forms  of  the  saiblings  rise  freely  to  the  fly,  if  any- 
thing being  more  sprightly  in  rising  and  in  their 
eagerness  more  frequently  missing  the  feathers, 
than  our  brook  trout.  The  ordinary  gear  and 
flies  used  in  fishing  f or  fontinalis  will  lure  these 
saiblings,  except  the  Sunapee  trout,  which  are 
generally  taken  from  deep  waters  by  still  fishing 
or  trolling.  But  little  is  known  of  the  three 
Arctic  saiblings,  the  long-finned  charr  (Salvelinus 
alpinus  alipes\  the  Greenland  charr  (Salvelinus 
alpinus  stagnalis),  and  the  Floeberg  charr  (Salve- 
linus alpinus  arcturus).  The  first  (alipes)  is 
noted  for  its  very  high  or  long-rayed  fins,  for 
its  forked  tail  and  the  very  small  size  of  the 
adipose  fin;  the  second  (stagnalis)  for  the  dark 
green,  with  lighter  green  streaks,  on  the  back, 
for  its  greenish  upper  fins  and  lower  pink  ones; 
the  third  (arcturus)  for  the  absence  of  red  or 


3  24  Tbe  Trouts  of  America 

pinkish  spots  on  the  body.  I  have  no  authen- 
tic reports  of  the  game  qualities  of  these  charrs, 
but  doubtless  they  rise  freely  to  the  flies  and 
resist  capture  bravely. 

Perhaps  no  fish  has  been  the  subject  of  so 
much  discussion  as  the  Sunapee  trout,  and  the 
pages  that  have  been  printed  on  the  subject  of 
its  original  habitat,  whether  native  born,  for- 
eign, or  a  hybrid,  would  fill  an  octavo  volume 
with  pros  and  cons,  and  at  the  end  of  it  all  we 
would  be  no  wiser.  So  close  is  the  structure  of 
the  Sunapee  trout  to  the  other  saiblings  that 
Professor  T.  H.  Bean  was  compelled  to  resort  to 
its  peculiar  and  beautiful  coloration  that  an 
appropriate  technical  name  might  be  found  for  it, 
although  the  coloration  of  a  fish,  by  strict 
ichthyological  law,  is  not  a  factor  in  classification. 
This  trout  is  scientifically  known  as  Salvelinus 
alpinus  aureolus,  alpinus  being  the  specific  title 
of  the  saibling,  and  aureolus,  "golden."  As 
it  is  commonly  called  by  New  England  anglers 
and  others  the  "  golden  trout,"  confusion,  as  I 
have  before  stated,  is  apt  to  arise  owing  to  the 
similarity  of  name  with  that  of  the  true  golden 
trout  of  Mt.  Whitney,  California. 

The  Sunapee  trout  is  only  found,  within  our 


Sunapee  Trout  325 

present  knowledge,  in  Sunapee  Lake,  Dan  Hole, 
Carroll  Co.,  both  in  New  Hampshire,  and  in 
Flood's  Pond,  Ellsworth,  Maine.  These  waters 
are  very  deep  and  pure,  and  contain  large  num- 
bers of  landlocked  smelt  and  crustaceans,  upon 
which  the  trout  feed  to  such  repletion  that  they 
do  not  rise  to  surface  food  of  any  kind,  certainly 
most  infrequently,  if  at  all,  to  the  artificial  fly; 
but  on  the  trolling  spoon,  or  live  smelt  in  still 
fishing,  they  show  grand  fighting  vigor. 

Their  coloration  is  resplendent  in  orange, 
brown,  and  golden  tints ;  on  the  back  a  clear 
olive  sometimes  shading  into  brown  prevails ;  the 
belly  shows  shades  of  white  to  orange,  pink,  and 
red,  and  in  the  spawning  season,  in  the  males,  a 
dazzling  and  brilliant  orange  pervades  the  region 
below  the  lateral  line.  The  distinguished  struc- 
tural markings  of  this  fish  are  the  teeth,  which 
are  present  in  a  broad  row  at  the  base  of  the 
tongue ;  the  small  head,  large  fins,  and  bent  form 
of  gill-rakers;  the  absence  of  mottlings  on  the 
back  also  serves  to  differentiate  it  from  the  brook 
trout.  The  Sunapee  trout  is  a  good  feeder, 
taking  a  live  smelt  preferably,  but  any  other  small 
fish  with  which  the  hook  may  be  baited  and 
lowered  sixty  to  seventy  feet ;  ground  baiting  for 


3  26  Tbe  Trout s  of  America 

several  days  before  fishing  being  most  fruitful  in 
scores. 

The  habits  of  the  oquassa  or  blueback  trout 
(Salvelinus  oquassa)  are  somewhat  similar  to 
those  of  the  Dublin  Pond  trout  and  the  lake 
herring ;  they  can  only  be  seen  in  the  lakes  and 
streams  between  October  10  and  20,  after 
which  they  disappear  until  the  same  period  of 
the  following  year.  The  cisco  or  lake  herring 
comes  to  the  surface  when  the  May  flies  are 
swarming,  usually  for  about  thirty  days,  from 
May  20  to  June  10,  and  the  Dublin  Pond 
trout  during  the  same  period.  Would  it  not  be 
well  for  our  fish  savants,  when  in  doubt  as  to  the 
strict  classification  of  the  trouts,  with  their  slight 
and  often  perplexing  similarities  of  structure, 
to  give  some  consideration  to  their  habits  when 
these  are  constant?  If  this  was  permitted  as  a 
factor  in  classification,  a  pertinent  query  would 
be  —  Is  the  cisco  or  lake  herring  a  trout,  or  is 
the  Dublin  Pond  fish  a  cisco  ?  Both  are  mem- 
bers of  the  salmon  family. 

The  blueback  seldom,  if  ever,  grows  beyond 
twelve  inches  in  length;  it  has  a  more  slender 
and  graceful  body  than  the  brook  trout,  and  its 
forked  tail  is  a  distinguishing  mark  of  the  species. 


The  Blueback  Trout  327 

The  name  "  blueback  "  is  taken  from  its  color  on 
the  back,  which  is  bluish  black;  the  spots  are 
red  and  round,  and  usually  confined  in  location 
to  the  sides  of  the  body ;  the  head  is  quite  small, 
more  so  than  any  other  of  the  native  trouts,  and 
the  scales  are  also  very  small,  although  close 
observation  will  show  that  they  are  larger  along 
the  lateral  line.  Mr.  H.  O.  Stanley,  Fish  Com- 
missioner of  the  state  of  Maine,  states  that  the 
blueback  is  much  hardier  than  the  brook  trout ; 
that  the  spots  are  yellow,  red,  and  black,  and 
more  brilliant ;  that  he  has  "  known  them  to  lie 
on  the  ground  all  night  and  be  alive  next  morn- 
ing." They  visit  the  streams  in  large  schools, 
the  same  as  the  herrings  and  smelt,  and  spawn  on 
the  same  ground  as  the  brook  trout.  Their 
habitat  during  the  balance  of  the  year,  from 
about  November  i  to  October  10,  is  in  the  deep 
waters  of  the  Rangely  Lakes,  Maine,  from  which 
they  are  said  to  pass  as  the  spawning  season 
approaches  from  Lake  Oquassa  to  the  Kenne- 
bago  River  in  large  numbers,  in  obedience  to  the 
reproduction  instinct.  A  short  distance  above 
its  mouth  the  Kennebago  receives  the  outlet  of 
Lake  Oquassa.  The  blueback  leaves  the  Ken- 
nebago to  the  left  and  runs  toward  Oquassa 


328  The  Trouts  of  America 

Lake,  where  its  bridal  voyage  comes  to  an  end. 
About  the  middle  of  November  it  goes  into 
Mooselookmaguntic  Lake,  and  is  seen  no  more 
until  October  of  next  year.  The  oquassa  trout 
is  not  an  angler's  fish;  a  few  have  been  caught 
in  summer  with  the  garden  worm  as  bait,  and 
they  have  been  taken  with  the  same  lure  while 
on  their  spawning  ground,  but  they  give  the 
angler  the  impression  that  the  bait  only  annoys 
them,  and  they  attack  it  merely  to  drive  it  away 
from  their  beds. 

There  are  two  subspecific  forms  of  the  blue- 
back  trout :  one  the  Naresi  charr  (Salvelinus 
oquassa  naresi)  with  an  Arctic  habitat ;  the  other 
the  Lac  de  Marbre  trout  (Salvelinus  oquassa 
marsoni},  the  latest  discovery  in  the  line  of 
charrs,  living  in  a  lake  of  the  same  name  as  the 
fish  and  doubtless  numerous  other  Canadian 
waters.  The  first  (naresi}  is  distinguished  by  its 
very  small  red  spots,  greenish  back,  deeply  forked 
tail,  and  deep  red  lower  fins.  It  is  found  in  Dis- 
covery Bay  and  Chamberland  Gulf  of  the  Arctic 
region.  I  have  no  record  of  it  as  an  angling  fish. 

The  Lac  de  Marbre  trout  is  somewhat  closely 
allied  to  the  blueback  trout,  but  grows  to  a 
greater  size ;  it  is  readily  distinguished  from  it  by 


Lac  de  Marbre  Trout  329 

the  large  mouth,  four  teeth  strongly  hooked  on 
tongue,  and  strong  ones  on  lower  edge  of  jaw 
for  nearly  its  entire  length,  also  by  its  coloration 
and  deeply  forked  tail.  It  is  dark  brown  on  the 
back  with  an  iridescent  tint  of  blue,  shading  into 
whitish,  tinged  with  yellow  below  the  lateral  line ; 
the  top  of  the  head  is  blackish  and  the  cheeks  are 
silvery.  There  seems  to  be  some  conflict  of 
opinions  among  anglers  as  to  the  methods  of 
luring  this  fish.  Some  contend  that  it  is%  a  deep- 
water  trout  and  will  not  rise  to  a  fly,  and  this 
appears  to  be  the  case  with  the  first  specimens 
caught  in  Lac  de  Marbre;  but  in  other  waters 
they  come  to  the  fly  and  take  it  freely  in  the  fall 
of  the  year,  although  none  have  been  so  taken 
in  the  summer  months.  It  is  said  to  leap 
repeatedly  from  the  water  when  hooked  (no  other 
Eastern  charr  to  my  knowledge  has  this  trait), 
and  fights  desperately.  It  is  about  a  third  larger 
than  the  brook  trout,  weight  for  weight,  and 
grows  to  three  pounds  and  upward. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

METHODS  OF  FISHING  FOR  TROUT  — FLY  FISHING  AND 
BAIT  FISHING  — UP-STREAM  OR  DOWN-STREAM  — 
ATMOSPHERIC  CONDITIONS  — HOW  A  TROUT  BROOK 
IS  FISHED  — THE  GRASSHOPPER  CAST— FLIES  TO 
BE  USED  —  DRY  AND  WET  FLY  FISHING  —  FLY  FISH- 
ING AT  NIGHT  — FLIES  USED  IN  LAKE  FISHING 

THERE  are  two  accepted  legitimate  methods  of 
fishing  for  trout,  all  others  being  barred  by  the 
ethics  of  the  art.  Trolling  with  a  spoon  or  any 
other  bait,  and  fishing  through  the  ice  are  looked 
upon  by  the  fly  fisherman  as  coarse  and  unsports- 
manlike, and  they  certainly  are,  when  compared 
with  the  deft  handling  of  a  delicate  cast  of  feathers. 
Trolling  and  ice  fishing  are  merely  yanking  half- 
starved  trout  from  the  water;  fly  fishing,  born  of 
skill  and  experience,  lures  the  brook  beauty  to  the 
surface  by  manipulating  naturally  the  choicest 
morsel  of  his  menu  and  causing  it  to  fall  upon  the 
water,  gently  fluttering,  as  a  snowflake  falls  on  a 
calm  winter's  day.  Moreover,  when  casting  an 
artificial  fly,  the  angler  by  a  gentle  turn  of  the 
wrist  seeks  to  impale  the  hook;  in  trolling  the 

330 


Methods  and  Equipment  331 

boatman  finds  the  fish,  and  the  trout  hooks  itself. 
When  wading  down  a  trout  stream  with  its  alter- 
nating rifts  and  brown  quiet  pools,  the  experienced 
angler  gently  drops  the  feathers  atop  the  one  or 
across  the  still  bosom  of  the  other;  he  knows  the 
resting  and  feeding  places  of  his  quarry,  and  calls 
that  knowledge  into  play  every  dozen  steps  he 
takes  down  the  galloping  and  frolicsome  stream. 
The  two  legitimate  methods  of  fishing  for  trout 
are  fly  casting  and  worm  fishing  with  a  light  rod 
and  delicate  water  gear.  I  am  not  so  ironclad  in 
opposition  to  bait  fishing  for  trout  as  are  many  of 
my  brother  anglers.  It  is  an  art  in  itself,  and  a 
knowledge  of  the  habits  of  the  fish  and  of  the 
stream  in  which  it  lives  is  as  necessary  for  success 
as  they  are  in  fly  fishing ;  and  there  are  days  when 
fontinalis  will  not  rise  to  the  surface.  A  trout 
taking  the  worm  when  cast  on  a  light  rod,  must 
be  handled  as  skilfully  as  when  he  is  on  a  hook 
dressed  with  feathers.  True,  he  is  apt  to  fight 
deeper,  but  as  he  seldom  shows  his  body  when 
restrained  by  a  fly  rod  unless  forced  to  do  so  by 
the  muscular  angler,  and,  when  hooked,  never 
leaps  in  the  air  of  his  own  sweet  will,  it  is  difficult 
to  define  the  degree  of  pleasure  experienced  in  the 
one  method  and  not  in  the  other.  But  just  here 


33  2  The  Trouts  of  America 

comes  in  the  aesthetic  nature  of  the  fly  fisherman. 
He  contends  that  he  gets  the  greatest  enjoyment 
from  the  beauty  and  seclusion  of  the  environment 
of  a  trout  stream,  and  that  one  potent  factor  in 
the  delight  of  a  trout  outing,  is  the  mere  act  of 
casting  the  fly  and  seeing  the  fish  rise  to  the  sur- 
face for  it.  He  also  abhors  the  handling  and  im- 
paling of  a  squirming  worm,  and  objects  to  taking 
it  from  the  mouth,  tongue,  or  from  the  gullet, 
where  it  is  often  found  embedded. 

Fly  fishing  for  trout  is  followed  by  the  great 
majority  of  anglers,  and  their  methods  of  fishing 
a  stream  are  somewhat  diverse.  In  slow-moving 
waters,  the  best  course  is  to  fish  up-stream,  and  in 
swift-running  ones  down-stream,  being  careful,  as 
before  stated,  to  make  a  detour  when  a  likely  pool 
is  reached,  and  fish  it  from  the  lower  end  to  its 
head.  In  fishing  up-stream,  the  cast  of  flies  comes 
quickly  down  on  the  current,  which  compels  con- 
stant and  fatiguing  casting,  but  this  can  partially 
be  avoided  by  directing  the  flies  diagonally  up  and 
across.  Trout  in  a  current  always  poise  with 
heads  against  it,  and  common  sense  suggests  that 
they  are  less  likely  to  see  the  angler  below  them, 
than  when  he  is  fishing  down-stream ;  yet  it  may 
be  with  a  trout's  eyesight,  as  it  is  with  ours,  we 


WHERE    EXPERTNESS    IS    NEEDED 


Methods  and  Equipment  333 

cannot  see  far  or  clearly  through  an  agitated  sur- 
face of  water,  and  it  would  naturally  follow  that 
down-stream  fishing  does  not  alarm  the  fish  to 
the  extent  that  it  is  credited  to  do.  Certainly 
atmospheric  conditions  disturb  or  lessen  the  acute- 
ness  of  sight  in  trout.  On  a  bright  day,  with  the 
sun  rays  illuminating  every  sand  bar,  rock,  or 
pebble  of  the  stream,  the  trout  are  timid,  and  will 
not  rise  to  the  most  deftly  placed  artificial  fly ;  but 
as  the  chasing  shadows  pass  over  the  pool,  causing 
dark  patches,  here  and  there,  the  trout  in  these 
shaded  spots  become  alert  for  the  drifting  bug  or 
falling  insect.  Under  such  conditions  the  experi- 
enced angler  seldom  fails  to  score,  although  when 
starting  out  the  day  appeared  to  be  an  unpro- 
pitious  one.  On  dark  days  and  at  night  trout,  as 
a  rule,  rise  freely ;  on  bright  days  they  are  shy. 

It  has  been,  for  a  long  period,  a  matter  of 
discussion  whether  trout  would  rise  during  a 
thunder-storm  or  when  an  east  wind  is  blow- 
ing. The  pros  and  cons  have  been  discussed 
until  the  subject  ceases  to  be  of  interest,  and 
has  become  about  threadbare.  It  is,  without 
question,  a  fact  that  these  fish  bite  most  freely 
when  a  rain  storm  is  in  its  incipiency,  when 
the  first  drops  spatter  upon  the  water;  also 


334  The  Trotits  of  America 

that  they  are  not  alarmed  at  low,  rolling  vol- 
umes of  thunder,  but  when  it  becomes  more 
intermittent  and  resounds  in  sudden  claps,  the 
fish  retire  to  the  deepest  holes  that  can  be 
reached  by  them.  This  peculiar  trait  is  easily 
understood  and  explained.  When  the  thunder  is 
low  or  deep,  but  regular  in  intonation,  the 
atmosphere  is  not  agitated  with  vibrations  suffi- 
ciently strong  to  affect  the  surface  of  the 
water;  on  the  other  hand  sudden  and  loud 
thunderclaps  produce  concussions  that  alarm 
the  fish,  causing  them  to  scurry  to  a  place  of 
safety. 

This  subject  of  thunder-storms  affecting  the 
rising  of  trout,  naturally  suggests  a  few  words 
on  the  effects  of  other  atmospheric  conditions. 
For  instance,  as  to  what  wind  is  most  favorable 
for  trout  fishing;  a  question  that  has  been  dis- 
cussed since  angling  began  as  a  pastime,  and, 
as  it  appears,  the  east  wind  is  most  decried. 
In  nine  instances  out  of  ten,  when  the  angler 
is  wading  down  a  wooded  trout  stream,  a  strong 
wind  changes  its  direction  to  almost  all  the 
points  of  the  compass,  whirling  around  bends, 
dashing  through  tree  intervals,  and  circling  in 
eddies,  tempered  or  strengthened  at  every  few 


Methods  and  Equipment  335 

hundred  feet  of  the  brook.  Hence  the  decriers 
of  an  east  wind  have  only  the  direct  effect  of 
such  an  air  current  upon  the  temperature  of 
the  water  as  an  argument  in  their  favor.  A 
sharp,  chilling  east  wind  in  the  early  days  of 
the  season,  say  in  March  or  in  cold  April 
weather,  is  hardly  a  factor  in  lowering  the  tem- 
perature of  the  water,  from  which,  in  a  tardy 
spring,  the  snow  water  has  hardly  run  out  and 
the  partial  chill  of  winter  still  remains.  Later 
on,  when  the  foliage  is  in  its  fulness  of  greenery, 
when  the  bees  are  buzzing,  and  the  stream  is 
in  its  normal  fishing  condition,  it  will  require 
some  days  of  constant  northeast  gales  to  lower 
the  temperature  of  a  trout  brook,  particularly  if 
it  is  dashing,  dancing,  or  rippling  along  its  devi- 
ous course  over  pebbles,  boulders,  fallen  trunks, 
and  other  obstructions. 

I  never  joint  my  rod  when  the  air  is  chilled 
by  unseasonable  winds,  not  that  their  prevalence, 
unless  continued  for  several  days,  will  lessen 
scores,  but  rather  from  the  feeling  that  fontina- 
lis  should  only  be  lured  when  the  air  is  mellow, 
the  stream  joyous  in  its  flow,  and  the  fish  ram- 
pant in  leaping  and  in  full  vigor  of  fight.  No 
genuine  trout  angler  can  be  responsive  to  the 


33  6  Tbe  T routs  of  America 

charm  of  the  pastime  when,  in  the  cold  days  of 
early  spring  his  teeth  are  apt  to  chatter,  limbs 
stiffen,  and  fingers  in  their  rigor,  like  bars  of 
iron,  fail  in  their  firm  grasp  of  the  handpiece 
of  the  rod.  And  then,  again,  the  trout,  what 
sluggish,  inert  things  they  are !  coming  to  the  fly 
so  lazily  and  sucking  it  in  so  leisurely  that  an 
angler,  slow  as  a  snail  in  striking,  could  never 
miss  a  rise  or  fail  to  impale  the  hook.  But 
anglers,  of  all  men,  are  most  widely  apart  in 
opinion  and  practice.  Some,  whom  I  have 
known  for  years,  and  they  are  good  fishermen, 
contend  that  an  east  wind  is  a  favorable  one, 
and  that  they  never  fail  of  success  during  a 
thunder-storm.  Others,  again,  say  they  can  never 
catch  a  trout  during  the  prevalence  of  a  north- 
west wind  nor  when  it  veers  from  the  west  to 
north,  but  a  blow  from  northeast  always  fills  the 
creel. 

Trout  seem  to  have  an  instinctive  foreknowl- 
edge of  a  rise  of  water  which  will  enable  them 
to  ascend  with  less  discomfort  and  more  rapid- 
ity to  the  higher  reaches  of  the  stream  for  the 
purposes  of  spawning;  and  that  the  rise  will 
furnish  them  with  a  greater  supply  of  surface- 
washed  food.  Knowing  this  fact,  experienced 


Methods  and  Equipment  337 

trout  anglers  often  defer  their  visits  to  the 
stream  until  there  has  been  a  rise  of  water  in 
it,  and  not  unfrequently,  when  on  an  outing,  the 
early  morning  salute  to  their  host  will  be  im- 
mediately followed  by  the  query,  "  Did  it  rain 
last  night  ? "  The  answer  will  determine  the 
outline  of  the  day's  occupation  —  a  delightful 
hour  or  more  on  the  stream,  overhauling  of 
tackle,  or  reasserting  the  contents  of  their  fly 
books,  or  the  charm  of  swapping  fish  improb- 
abilities with  their  fellow-guests. 

Assured  of  the  proper  condition  of  the  water, 
the  angler  approaches  it  with  caution,  having 
previously  and  carefully  adjusted  his  tackle. 
Stepping  quietly  into  the  stream,  either  in  the 
boil  of  a  rapid  or  on  the  shallows  near  the 
bank,  but  never  into  or  near  a  pool,  his  first 
cast  will  be  up  and  across  stream,  the  current 
taking  the  line  and  swooping  it  down ;  when  at 
full  tension  it  is  allowed  to  remain  in  the  water 
a  few  minutes.  This  is  merely  to  get  the  lower 
gear  in  perfect  working  condition,  although  it 
should  be  nearly  so  before  fishing  if  the  angler 
has  provided  himself  with  a  leader  box,  with  its 
layers  of  moistened  felt,  and  if  he  has  carefully 
straightened  out  the  snoods  of  his  flies.  After 


33  8  The  Trouts  of  America 

a  half-dozen  casts  for  this  purpose,  if  there  is 
a  rift  or  rapid  before  him,  he  will  cast  about 
forty  feet  of  line  (a  longer  one  is  seldom  neces- 
sary), being  careful  to  place  the  flies  on  the  lip 
of  every  little  eddy  caused  by  immersed  stones, 
or  larger  ones  made  by  protruding  rocks  —  not 
forgetting  that  when  "on  the  feed"  trout  are 
found  in  all  portions  of  a  rapid,  wherever  five 
or  six  inches  of  water  comes  tumbling  down ; 
hence  fish  every  part  of  the  boiling  current.  If 
a  fish  is  hooked,  it  will  be  without  warning, 
for  the  rise  is  not  apt  to  be  seen  in  the  rough 
water;  the  first  intimation  of  the  presence 
of  the  trout  will  be  the  eager  "pluck"  of  the 
fly,  which  on  your  part  must  be  immediately 
followed  by  a  turn  of  the  wrist  from  left  to 
right,  a  movement  known  as  "  the  strike "  in 
angling  parlance.  When  a  trout  is  fastened  in 
rapid  water  he  should  be  led,  if  possible,  into  a 
quiet  reach  and  there  killed,  but  if  no  still 
water  is  at  hand,  the  fish  should  be  held  hard 
and  killed  quickly.  He  must  not  be  allowed  to 
cavort  at  will  where  submerged  stones  and  rocks, 
some  of  them,  perhaps,  with  sharp  edges,  line 
the  bottom  of  the  stream. 

Descending  the  stream,  the  angler  sometimes 


Methods  and  Equipment  339 

reaches  a  pool  of  several  feet  in  depth,  presenting 
a  broad  and  still  surface  of  perhaps  twenty-five 
feet  in  length  and  fifteen  in  breadth.  The 
"swim,"  as  the  English  rodsters  call  it,  will 
at  times  show  a  large  boulder  at  its  upper  end, 
or  a  freshet-washed  bank  with  an  overhanging 
tree,  the  dirt-denuded  roots  of  which  lie  beneath 
the  surface  and  cannot  be  seen. 

Under  such  a  condition  I  usually  make  two  or 
three  long  casts,  placing  the  flies  at  the  foot  of 
the  rapid,  and  at  the  spot  where  it  subsides  in 
gentle  ripples  on  the  surface  of  the  pool.  (The 
reader  will  kindly  note  in  this  connection  that  I 
am  giving  my  own  methods  of  fishing  a  trout 
stream,  not  those  of  other  anglers,  but  few  of 
whom  fish  alike.)  After  making  these  casts  at 
the  foot  of  the  rapid,  I  leave  the  stream  and  walk 
around  and  below  the  pool,  keeping  at  least 
twenty  feet  from  the  shore,  and  reentering  the 
brook  forty  to  fifty  feet  beyond  the  foot  of  the 
quiet  water,  being  careful,  however,  to  fish  above 
and  below  the  entering  spot,  if  favorable  condi- 
tions exist. 

When  fishing  a  pool  from  below,  long  and  fine 
casting,  as  a  rule,  produces  the  best  results,  and 
your  flies  should  traverse  every  inch  of  it,  particu- 


340  The  Trout s  of  America 

larly  under  the  shelving  bank,  if  such  exists,  and 
in  the  circling  eddy  below  the  big  boulder  at  the 
head  of  the  pool.  Often  I  fish  a  pool  from  above 
before  going  below  it,  making  the  "grasshopper 
cast,"  of  which  more  anon,  but,  in  doing  so,  care 
is  used  in  standing  as  much  in  the  shadow  as 
possible,  or  only  casting  when  a  cloud  throws  a 
passing  depth  of  color  over  the  pool ;  casting  in 
bright  sunlight  is  time  wasted,  although  fifty  to 
sixty  feet  of  line  may  be  used.  Fishing  the  pool 
from  above  has  frequently  resulted  in  a  good 
score,  and  thus  encouraged  I  have  often  fished 
the  same  pool  immediately  after  from  below, 
making  previously  the  detour  described,  and 
have  frequently  added  two  or  more  good  fish 
to  the  creel.  But  the  average  best  result  is 
had  from  fishing  a  pool  from  the  foot  of  it. 

Here  and  there  on  a  trout  stream  will  be 
found,  comparatively  long,  still  stretches  where 
only  a  gentle  current  prevails.  They  are,  as  a 
rule,  of  uniform  depth,  seldom  reaching  above 
the  thighs.  Such  waters,  I  think,  the  most  diffi- 
cult of  any  to  successfully  fish,  but  in  them  usu- 
ally lie  the  largest  trout  living  in  the  stream. 
Long  and  most  delicate  casts  are  requisite,  and 
just  here  comes  in  the  value  of  "  the  grasshopper 


Methods  and  Equipment  341 

cast "  to  which  is  attached  a  history  which  will 
be  given  briefly. 

Up  in  Boone  County,  New  York,  there  was  a 
fine  trout  stream  and  a  club  of  anglers.  Its 
president  was  D.  W.  Cross  of  Cleveland,  Ohio, 
now  deceased.  The  writer  was  his  guest  at 
the  club,  and  we  fished  always  in  company,  often 
side  by  side,  for  the  stream  was  broad.  One 
day,  on  the  brook,  he  said  to  me:  — 

"  I  know  of  but  one  man  who  makes  the  grass- 
hopper cast  as  well  as  you  do,  and  he  is  my 
brother." 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  What  is  a  grasshopper 
cast  ?  "  was  the  reply. 

"  Why,  my  good  fellow,  don't  you  know  ?  there, 
you  have  just  made  one !  " 

Now  I  had  been  making  the  cast  for  twenty 
years,  and  was  ignorant  of  the  name  and  method 
of  making  it,  but  not  of  its  merits ;  for  it  had 
taken  many  a  hefty  black  bass  for  me  years 
before  out  of  the  Schuylkill  River.  I  can  tell 
you  what  it  is,  not  how  to  make  it ;  it  is  beyond 
analysis  and  my  power  of  description.  It  is  a 
long  throw,  from  the  angler's  standpoint,  between 
fifty  and  sixty  feet,  and  when  the  forward  cast  is 
made,  the  line  first  strikes  the  water  at  the  spot 


342  The  Trouts  of  America 

where  the  slight  knot  or  loop  attachment  con- 
nects the  reel  line  with  the  leader.  Striking  the 
water  at  this  point,  the  leader  is  thrown  upward 
and  forward  making  a  curve  -— -*,  and  the  end  fly 
falls  very  gently  on  the  surface,  followed  by  the 
dropper  (I  use  only  one),  hence  the  name,  "grass- 
hopper cast." 

The  long,  still  stretches  should  be  fished  fine 
and  thoroughly,  particularly  where  the  water  has 
washed  under  the  banks,  and  wherever  there  is  a 
shadow  thrown  by  an  overhanging  bush  or  tree. 
There,  at  midday,  trout  will  be  found  avoiding 
the  glare  of  the  sun  and  reluctant,  because  of  it, 
to  forage,  and  appease  the  gnawings  of  a  growing 
appetite. 

In  fishing  at  the  foot  of  a  fall  or  dam  where 
the  white  water  is  foaming,  the  flies  (dark  ones) 
should  be  cast  on  a  short  line,  say  twenty  to 
thirty  feet,  and  as  near  the  wood  or  stone  work  of 
the  dam  as  possible,  for  trout  often  lie  between  the 
dam  and  the  volume  of  down-pouring  water ;  here 
and  there  interruptions  may  occur  in  this  volume, 
which  will  enable  you  to  get  your  flies  beyond  it. 
Don't  be  afraid  that  the  trout  will  see  you,  if  the 
extent  of  the  foot  space  of  the  dam  be  small  and 
the  water  is  churning  into  flecks  of  foam. 


Methods  and  Equipment  343 

The  habits  of  "  rising  trout "  are  apparently 
governed  by  their  environment.  In  rapid  streams 
ihey  rise  fiercely,  seizing  the  fly  with  a  dash  and 
ejecting  it  at  once  when  they  find  out  its  inedible 
nature,  showing  their  sense  of  taste  to  be  acute. 
Under  such  conditions  the  strike  must  be  im- 
mediate, but  gentle,  and  at  the  first  sight  of  the 
swirl  made  by  the  eager  fish ;  if  you  wait  for  the 
"  pluck  "  or  feel  of  the  bite,  you  will,  nine  times 
in  ten,  lose  your  fish;  he  has  ejected  the  steel 
and  gone  on  his  way,  unsuspecting  and  uncon- 
cerned. If,  perchance,  this  same  trout  passes 
down-stream  to  live  a  few  days  in  a  quiet  and 
relatively  deep  pool,  his  entire  nature  seems  to 
change ;  he  is  now  a  sedate,  sober  fish,  feeding 
daintily  on  the  insects  falling  constantly  from  the 
overhanging  alders,  rising  very  slowly  to  the  fly 
and  taking  it  leisurely,  then  turning  a  slow  tail, 
and  only  feeling  or  tasting  the  non-edible  thing 
it  has  mouthed  after  the  turn  of  the  wrist  has  fas- 
tened it  into  the  flesh.  Such  fish  are  a  glory  to 
the  slow  striker.  Hence,  on  the  one  hand,  if  you 
see  the  swirl  made  by  the  mad  rush  of  a  trout  in 
the  boil  of  a  rapid,  strike  at  once ;  on  the  other, 
go  slowly,  take  a  moment  for  consideration  before 
the  turn  of  the  wrist  is  made,  or  else  your  fish 


344  The  Trouts  of  America 

will  be  lost;  he  has  probably  held  the  fly  in  the 
mouth  loosely,  being  sure  of  its  possession  and 
too  languid  or  indifferent  to  mouth  it. 

When  a  trout  is  fastened  on  the  hook  in  a 
comparatively  deep  and  still  water,  and  if  he  is 
of  average  stream  size,  the  spring  of  the  rod,  "  its 
yielding  resistance,"  will  kill  after  you  have  him 
well  in  hand,  being  careful,  however,  that  he  does 
not  rush  into  a  root-hole,  around  a  bottom  snag, 
or  in  the  thick  water  grass  or  lily  pads.  If  he 
does  get  among  the  latter,  don't  yank,  but  keep 
a  strong  steady  pull  upon  the  line;  and  if  that 
does  not  make  him  yield,  sit  down  and  wait,  with 
a  slack  line,  just  like  a  mule  driver  sometimes  has 
to  do  with  his  mule  —  he  tires  it  out,  or  rather  call* 
it  into  action,  by  inaction  and  patience.  I  know 
of  no  other  methods  by  which  an  entangled  line 
by  a  righting  trout  can  be  released,  unless  the 
water  be  shallow  and  you  wade  out  and  gill  the 
fish  with  your  forefinger. 

As  the  season  advances,  say  toward  August, 
examine  the  banks  of  the  pools  for  little  springs 
which  are  frequently  found  trickling  down ;  at 
such  points  trout  are  apt  to  gather  in  pairs,  pre- 
empting the  spot  to  secure  for  themselves  a  cooler 
temperature,  and  the  greater  likelihood  of  drifting 


Methods  and  Equipment  345 

bugs  on  the  spring  water.  Hesitate  and  examine 
the  situation  before  approaching  and  fishing  the 
pool.  If  trout  are  rising,  note  the  form  and  gen- 
eral coloration  of  the  insects  fluttering  over  and 
falling  into  the  water.  Don't  differentiate  shades 
or  tints  of  color,  but  scrutinize  the  shape  of  the 
body,  and  the  general  make-up  of  the  insect. 
The  trout  may  not  be  color-blind,  yet  we  cannot 
believe  that  he  can  tell  the  difference  in  tint  be- 
tween orange  and  yellow,  if  you  have  such  dressed 
on  your  fly-hook.  Rather  deceive  him  by  the 
natural  movement  you  give  to  the  artificial,  which, 
in  my  experience,  is  a  warranty  of  good  scores,  if 
the  fish  be  in  a  rising  humor.  In  my  opinion, 
form,  not  color,  when  properly  manipulated,  is  the 
greatest  factor  in  a  big  creel  product ;  and  a  half 
worn-out,  jagged  fly,  dishevelled,  with  wings  or 
hackles  all  awry,  leaving  a  discernible  wake,  not 
too  heavy,  behind  it  as  it  is  trailed  with  a  lifelike 
action  over  the  water,  is  more  seductive  than 
those  of  spider  form,  a  May  fly  imitation,  or  any 
other  make  of  artificials,  dressed  however  beauti- 
fully artistic  they  may  be.  This  matter  brings 
up  the  subject  of  flies  generally  used  in  trout 
fishing. 

Many  anglers,  when  stream  fishing,  string  on 


346  The  Trouts  of  America 

their  leaders  a  half-dozen  flies  of  variegated  colors, 
alleging  as  a  reason  therefor  that  the  captious 
trout  has  a  wider  range  of  colors  from  which  to 
choose,  hence  capture  of  them  is  more  likely  to 
be  effected.  It  is  to  be  noted,  however,  that  these 
fishermen  are  short-line  casters,  and  fish  the  shal- 
low rifts  closely,  but  often  successfully.  Three 
flies  constitute  the  usual  cast  of  most  trout 
anglers,  and  the  general  use  of  this  number,  no 
more  or  no  less,  cannot  be  explained  satisfactorily, 
although  many  rodsters  contend  that  a  trio  of  flies 
attached  at  proper  intervals  to  the  leader  can  be 
played  upon  the  water  more  naturally  than  a 
lesser  or  greater  number ;  but  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  our  feathered  lures,  as  we  manipulate 
them  in  fishing  rapid  streams,  are  extremely  un- 
like living  bugs  in  action  or  appearance,  particu- 
larly when  we  draw  the  artificials  up  or  across  a 
five  or  a  ten  mile  current,  where  a  bug  in  life 
would  have  to  possess  the  muscular  power  of  a 
leviathan  of  the  deep  to  maintain  the  position 
and  action  given  by  our  restraining  lines.  I  use 
only  two  flies,  a  practice  induced  no  doubt  by  ex- 
perience on  a  black  bass  water,  where  a  couple  of 
fish  weighing  upward  of  five  pounds  are  a  heavy 
test  of  a  light  fly  rod.  As  my  casts  average, 


Methods  and  Equipment  347 

wherever  possible,  forty  or  more  feet,  I  place  the 
first  and  only  dropper  about  three  feet  above  the 
end  or  point  fly,  and  by  recalling  the  line,  gently 
lifting  the  point  of  the  rod  just  before  the  forward 
cast  ceases,  both  flies  fall  upon  the  water  at  the 
same  time,  and  before  the  reel  line  touches  it. 
In  making  very  long  grasshopper  casts  this  recall 
of  the  line  is  not  necessary. 

Thaddeus  Norris,  the  author  of  the  first  sys- 
tematic treatise  on  angling  in  American  waters, 
published  thirty-eight  years  ago,  has  ably  covered 
the  subject  of  flies  to  be  used,  and  the  manner  of 
handling  them ;  in  fact,  has  given  us  the  science 
of  the  art  in  a  couple  of  terse  paragraphs.  It 
would  be  well  if  his  words  rung  in  the  ears  of 
every  angler  when  on  a  trout  stream  or  preparing 
to  go  there. 

"  Don't  bother  with  a  lot  of  flies.  Here  are 
four  that  will  serve  all  purposes :  one  is  the  Red 
Spinner;  the  second  a  Black  Gnat;  the  third  is 
the  Coachman;  the  fourth  and  the  best  of  them 
all  is  the  Red  Palmer  or  Red  Hackle,  as  it  is 
indifferently  called. 

"  Now  for  the  secret.  Take  the  Red  Hackle  as 
the  standard  and  you  will  understand.  If  you 
throw  it  out  and  just  drag  it  on  the  water,  as  most 


348  The  Trouts  of  America 

people  do,  what  do  you  suppose  a  trout  will  take 
it  for?  Why,  just  what  it  is  —  a  bunch  of  hair, 
no  more,  no  less.  You  drag  it  along,  and  the 
hairs  close  on  the  shaft  of  the  hook;  it  is  just  a 
dead  mass,  not  resembling  a  fly,  or  a  caterpillar, 
or  anything  else.  But  suppose,  instead  of  this, 
you  work  your  wrist  very  gently  up  and  down,  so 
as  to  let  the  electric  hairs  of  the  hackle  expand 
and  close  with  the  stream ;  what  then  ?  Why  the 
thing  looks  alive,  looks  like  a  drowning  insect, 
and  the  trout  goes  for  it  directly.  It  is  the  same 
with  winged  flies  exactly.  There  is  no  use  hav- 
ing wings  to  a  fly  if  you  simply  drag  it  through 
the  water  in  one  direction." 

"  Uncle  Thad,"  as  he  was  familiarly  and  lov- 
ingly called  by  his  contemporary  stream  anglers, 
was  evidently  neither  a  "  formalist "  or  "  colorist  " 
in  the  matter  of  flies,  but  put  his  faith  in  the 
proper  manipulation  of  the  feathers  on  the  water, 
as  all  good  and  worthy  anglers  do  in  the  present 
era,  a  halcyon  one  for  "  the  art  contemplative," 
and  its  devotees,  for  skill  and  experience  are  now 
the  primal  factors  of  a  full  creel. 

We  sometimes  hear  the  phrase  "  cocking  a  fly." 
It  is  a  term  used  in  England  to  express  a  cast 
that  puts  the  artificial  fly  in  a  natural  position, 


Methods  and  Equipment  349 

that  is,  floating  on  the  surface  with  its  wings  up 
or  "cocked."  Many  English-made  flies  (Ameri- 
can also)  are  dressed  with  upright  wings,  and 
to  put  them  on  the  water  "  dry  "  is  a  killing  prac- 
tice, particularly  on  streams  that  are  much  fished. 
To  place  artistically  a  cocked  fly  on  the  surface, 
a  horizontal  cast  seems  to  be  requisite,  as  the 
overhead  method  is  apt  to  topple  the  fly  over  on 
its  side.  It  will  be  noted  that  a  cocked  fly,  as 
above  stated,  should  be  cast  "  dry."  This  leads  to 
the  much-discussed  subject,  particularly  in  Eng- 
land, of  the  merits  of  dry  and  wet  fly  fishing. 

Fishing  with  a  dry  fly  is  more  in  use  in  Eng- 
land (with  one  fly  only)  where  the  streams  are 
somewhat  sluggish,  than  in  America,  although  a 
few  of  our  experienced  anglers  have  practised  it 
for  many  years.  The  process  is  simple,  as  it  con- 
sists in  merely  switching  the  flies  a  half-dozen 
or  more  times  in  the  air,  before  placing  them  on 
the  water.  It  is  practised  with  greatest  success 
when  fishing  a  pool  from  below,  but  is  practically 
of  no  value  when  fishing  down-stream  in  wild 
water.  The  flies  and  lines  in  use  for  dry  fishing 
have  been  somewhat  elaborated ;  both  are  fre- 
quently well  oiled  to  increase  their  floating 
quality,  and  the  flies  are  made  with  corked  bodies 


350  The  Trouts  of  America 

and  with  wings  of  fish  scales  for  the  same  pur- 
pose. An  English  writer  thus  sums  up  the 
merits  of  dry-fly  fishing:  — 

"  It  is  certain  that  no  more  delicate  and  skil- 
ful method  of  capturing  a  created  thing,  no  more 
difficult  exercise,  has  ever  existed,  than  that  of  dry- 
fly  fishing.  It  is  not  only  the  nicety  of  the  opera- 
tion at  the  time  of  casting  a  single  fly  so  that  it 
alights,  whatever  may  be  the  difficulties  of  place 
or  wind,  in  a  particular  spot  with  complete  cer- 
tainty and  proceeds  to  float  down  over  a  rising 
trout  with  wings  erect  and  natural  motion,  but 
there  is  also  the  beautiful  perfection  with  which 
the  insect  is  imitated  by  the  fly-dresser,  and  the 
lightness  of  the  tackle  to  which  it  is  attached." 

Fishing  for  trout  with  the  fly  at  night  has  be- 
come quite  a  fad  with  many  anglers,  and,  as  a 
rule,  so  killing  is  the  practice  in  the  East  that  the 
laws  of  New  Jersey  prohibit  it  from  9  P.M.  to  day- 
light. Dark  nights  produce  the  best  results,  but 
before  the  moon  rises  and  after  it  sets  are  also 
likely  hours.  The  methods  followed  are  similar 
to  those  used  in  day  fishing,  although,  strange  to 
note,  dark  flies  are  equally  as  fruitful  in  scores 
as  light  ones,  particularly  when  casting  into  the 
foam  of  a  fall  or  dam.  When  the  stream  is 


THE   CUT-THROAT,    OR   WAHA   LAKE  TROUT 
Salmo  clarkii  bouvieri 


THE   GREAT   LAKE   TROUT 
Cristwomer  namaycush 


THE   DOLLY   VARDEN   TROUT 
Salvetinus  parkei 


Methods  and  Equipment  351 

low  in  midsummer,  the  best  results  are  obtained 
at  night,  which  is  the  reverse  of  what  the  angler 
gets  when  fishing  the  same  stream  during  the 
day.  The  rod  should  be  at  least  seven  ounces  in 
weight  and  the  water  gear  of  greater  strength 
than  that  used  in  day  fishing,  as  you  cannot  give 
your  fish  any  leeway  in  a  small  and  blackened 
pool,  perhaps  lined  with  water  grass  and  over- 
hung with  bushes,  the  outlines  of  which  you  can 
hardly  see.  The  trout  are  bolder,  naturally,  at 
night,  and  come  to  the  fly  with  an  eager  rush ;  and 
it  seems  as  if  all  the  senses  they  possess,  except 
that  of  taste,  were  quiescent  or  lacking  acuteness. 
Notwithstanding,  you  must  strike  quickly  at  the 
first  feel  of  the  "pluck,"  or  else  the  fly  will  be 
ejected.  Larger  flies  should  be  used  than  in  the 
daytime ;  the  splash  of  them  on  the  water  attracts 
the  trout,  who  seem  to  be  on  the  qui  vive  for 
falling  insects  of  large  size,  particularly  grass- 
hoppers. The  most  delightful  fishing  for  trout 
I  ever  had  at  night  was  when  using  a  large  Black 
Hackle  tied  on  a  No.  4  Limerick  hook.  I  took 
eighteen  fish  that  averaged  over  half  a  pound. 
The  trout  evidently  mistook  the  Black  Hackle  for 
a  cricket,  for  passing  along  the  stream  by  a  path 
that  led  close  to  the  bank,  a  few  evenings  subse- 


The  Trout s  of  America 

quent,  I  noticed,  at  the  pool  which  I  had  fished, 
overhanging  bushes,  which  were  brushed  with 
the  shoulders  as  I  trudged  campward,  and  from 
them  black  crickets  were  jumping  and  numbers 
of  them  falling  into  the  water. 

In  many  waters,  particularly  the  smaller  streams 
of  New  York  and  other  Eastern  Middle  states, 
large,  gaudy  flies  are  not  the  most  alluring,  and 
knowing  anglers  use  sombre-colored  ones,  such 
as  the  Alder,  Gray  Drake,  Cinnamon,  Cowdung, 
Yellow-bodied  Professor,  Coachman,  and  others 
similarly  dressed.  The  wings  and  tails  should 
be  small,  and  the  reds,  yellows,  and  greens  of  sub- 
dued shades.  A  very  killing  artificial  on  any 
trout  waters  and  in  all  sections,  I  have  found  to 
be  a  nondescript  without  a  name,  although  it  is 
somewhat  similar  to  a  tailless  Professor.  It  has 
a  dull  yellow  body  with  one  spiral  winding  of 
black  silk;  very  small  brown,  gray,  or  cinnamon 
wings,  with  little  white  spots  on  them;  no  tail, 
and  it  is  tied  on  a  No.  14  Sproat  hook  and  even 
smaller  ones.  I  have  found  flies,  almost  minute, 
dressed  on  hooks  Nos.  18  to  22  to  be  killing, 
when  all  others  failed  to  allure.  They  are  partic- 
ularly serviceable  when,  as  the  shades  of  evening 
thicken,  the  trout  are  seen  leaping  and  evidently 


Methods  and  Equipment  353 

feeding  on  midges  or  mosquitoes,  and  large  flies 
tied  on  Nos.  10  to  12  hooks  fail  to  attract  them. 
When  fishing  in  lakes  large,  gaudy  flies  are 
generally  used  —  those  tied  on  Nos.  4  to  8  hooks 
and  of  such  patterns  as  the  Silver  Doctor,  Parma- 
cheene  Belle,  Montreal,  Coachman,  Lord  Balti- 
more, etc.  When  moving  in  the  boat  from  place 
to  place,  a  deep  troll  with  large  flies  is  often  suc- 
cessful. 


2A 


CHAPTER   IX 

CASTING  THE  FLY  — HOW  IT  IS  DONE  — THE  SWITCH 
OR  SPEY  CAST  — HANDLING  A  HOOKED  TROUT  — 
BAIT  FISHING  — SELECTING  FISHING  TACKLE,  RODS, 
REELS,  LINES,  LEADERS,  ETC. 

THE  art  of  casting  a  fly  cannot  be  taught  either 
verbally  or  by  written  instructions.  Diagrams 
will  not  aid  the  tyro,  nor  daily  and  studious  visits 
to  a  fly-casting  tournament.  The  first  is  too  rigid 
to  even  indicate  the  supple  action  of  the  wrist  of 
the  caster,  or  the  graceful  flow  of  the  line  from 
the  tip  of  the  rod;  the  latter  outrages  all  prin- 
ciples of  the  art  by  the  strenuous  efforts  of  the 
contestants  to  shoot  the  flies  to  the  outermost 
reach,  and  in  doing  this  their  gyrations  and  often 
grotesque  attitudes  place  a  libel  and  a  disgrace  on 
the  gentle  art  of  angling.  The  young  angler 
must  be  patient  and  observing,  and  seek  for  every 
opportunity  to  accompany  an  experienced  fly-caster 
on  the  stream.  Let  him  be  content  for  days  to 
use  bait  and  follow  his  fly-fishing  companion  at 
a  distance  of  several  hundred  feet,  all  the  while 
with  his  eyes  open  and  his  intelligence  at  work. 

354 


Casting  tbe  Fly  355 

My  first  attempt  at  casting  flies,  over  half  a 
century  ago,  was  under  peculiar  conditions.  I 
had  followed  Horace  Inskeep,  a  veteran  angler  of 
Philadelphia,  for  a  week  or  more  down  the  streams 
with  a  fly  rod  and  fly-fishing  water  gear  in  use, 
but  with  a  garden  worm  as  bait.  One  day,  when 
the  stream  was  high  and  I  was  alone  upon  it,  the 
strap  holding  the  box  of  worms  became  loose,  and 
was  engulfed  and  carried  down  by  the  swollen, 
though  comparatively  clear  waters.  The  dilemma 
was  perplexing  and  annoying ;  but  in  a  few 
moments  I  chanced  to  remember  that  a  fly  book, 
which  I  always  carried  well  stocked  but  had 
never  used,  was  in  my  coat  pocket,  and,  then  and 
there  I  rigged  up  a  cast  of  flies  and  have  never 
used  bait  since  that  eventful  day.  Close  and 
daily  observation  for  over  a  week  of  Brother 
Inskeep 's  methods  had  imparted  "  the  knack,"  and 
I  placed  the  flies  measurably  well  at  the  first 
cast.  It  is  entirely  a  knack,  and  a  tyro  must 
catch  it  quickly  or  not  at  all.  I  have  seen  a 
youngster  cast  a  fly  cleanly  upon  the  water  on 
the  first  two  or  three  attempts ;  and  then,  again,  I 
have  noted  that  some  contestants  at  tournaments, 
with  their  output  of  seventy-five  to  ninety  feet, 
are  lacking  in  the  first  principles  of  the  art.  The 


356  The  Trouts  of  America 

power  to  cast  a  long  distance  is  with  them  muscu- 
lar, and  their  use  of  the  muscles  of  the  entire  arm 
is  distressing  to  the  stream  fisherman. 

But  if  the  art  of  casting  a  fly  cannot  be  taught 
by  printed  instructions  or  by  word  of  mouth,  a 
hint  or  two  may  be  of  use ;  for  instance :  — 

Let  the  young  angler  make  his  first  attempts 
in  the  current  of  the  stream  with  a  line  that  is 
slightly  longer  than  the  rod.  When  the  line  is 
down-stream  and  at  full  tension,  a  gentle  spring 
of  the  tip  of  the  rod,  made  by  raising  the  hand 
piece  an  inch  or  two,  and  at  the  same  time  giving 
a  quick  turn  of  the  wrist  from  left  to  right  (a 
movement  that  is,  or  should  be,  involuntary),  and 
then  quickly  lifting  the  rod  so  that  the  tip  will  be 
slightly  behind  the  right  shoulder,  will  effect 
what  is  called  "  the  back  cast."  As  the  rod 
reaches  the  shoulder  position  a  pause  of  one  to 
three  seconds,  to  allow  the  line  to  extend  back- 
ward, must  be  made,  and  the  rod  then  sprung  to 
the  front  as  described  in  the  backward  movement ; 
this  is  called  "  the  forward  cast."  The  spring  of 
the  tip  of  the  rod  should  be  snappy,  but  not 
violent,  and  just  how  to  do  this  and  allow  the 
proper  lapse  of  time  before  making  the  forward 
cast,  constitute,  I  think,  the  main  difficulty  in 


Casting  the  Fly  357 

acquiring  a  correct  casting  style ;  and  even 
when  learned  must  be  constantly  practised  before 
perfection  is  reached.  Many  stream  fishermen 
swing  their  rods  back  and  forth,  using  their  entire 
arm  in  the  movement,  and  manage  to  get  their 
flies  some  distance  on  the  water,  but  they  fail 
sadly  in  accuracy ;  and  this  quality,  only  to  be 
acquired  by  the  method  described  above,  is  essen- 
tial to  filling  the  creel.  An  old  stream  fisherman 
should  be  able  to  place  his  flies  at  a  distance  of 
forty  to  fifty  feet  within  the  circle  of  a  silver 
dollar,  five  times  out  of  six,  and  send  them  out  of 
his  sight,  around  the  projecting  angle  of  a  rock, 
shore-fastened  at  a  bend  of  the  stream,  provided, 
of  course,  the  wind  is  not  unfavorable ;  but  to 
reach  this  high  mark  of  excellence  and  accuracy, 
the  angler  must  have  years  of  experience  in  actual 
stream  work. 

Some  years  ago,  when  fly-casting  tournaments 
were  more  frequently  held  in  public,  the  switch  or 
Spey  cast  became  popular,  but  is  not  so  much  so  at 
the  present  day,  although  every  angler  uses  it,  in  a 
modified  degree,  when  a  requisite  back-cast  is  pro- 
hibited by  the  presence  of  wood  or  brush  growth 
on  the  banks  or  other  obstructions.  It  is  made  as 
follows.  With  the  line  at  full  stretch  down-stream 


35 8  The  Trouts  of  America 

and  the  hand  grasping  nearly  the  extreme  end  of 
the  butt,  the  rod  is  raised  so  that  as  much  of  the 
line  is  cleared  from  the  water  as  possible,  then  a 
forward  stroke  is  made  sufficiently  strong  to  lift  the 
entire  line  from  the  water  and  to  cause  the  fly  to 
alight  a  short  distance  in  the  rear  of  the  caster; 
then,  placing  the  rod  well  back,  as  in  the  forward 
cast  of  the  ordinary  method,  a  strong  switch  of 
the  rod  to  the  front  will  cause  the  line  to  roll  out 
rapidly ;  the  leader  and  flies,  as  the  line  goes  out, 
making  a  leap  as  it  were  and  alighting  upon  the 
water  in  the  manner  of  the  grasshopper  cast 
before  described. 

The  ambitious  tyro,  after  he  has  caught  the 
knack  of  casting  and  become  master  of  his  rod, 
will  learn  from  stream  experience  the  varied  casts 
known  as  the  left-handed,  the  side  cast,  the  under 
cast,  the  horizontal,  etc.  The  necessity  of  the  use 
of  them  depends  entirely  upon  the  character  of 
the  stream,  and  it  is  when  fishing  one  that  the 
angler  is  brought  face  to  face  with  their  value, 
and  can  quickly  acquire  a  knowledge  of  them. 
Words  would  be  wasted  in  an  attempt  to  describe 
how  the  casts  are  made. 

When  a  trout  is  fastened  on  a  fly  rod,  it  should 
be  brought  to  the  net  as  quickly  as  possible= 


Casting  the  Fly  359 

Humanity  alone  would  prompt  this,  for  if  the 
trout  does  not  feel  pain,  because  of  the  impalement 
of  the  hook  in  the  jaw  where  a  minimum  of  its 
nervous  system  exists,  it  certainly  must  suffer  in 
a  degree,  and  not  a  slight  one,  from  enforced  cap- 
tivity, the  final  result  of  which  he  evidently  fears 
will  be  death.  Why  else  his  frantic  struggles  to 
escape  ?  Besides,  a  trout  quickly  killed  and 
creeled  will  retain  its  natural  color  and  the  choice 
flavor  of  its  flesh  much  longer  than  one  dallied 
with  on  a  springing  rod.  To  bring  a  trout 
quickly  to  the  creel,  it  is  not  necessary  to  yank 
him  incontinently  out  of  the  water,  for  the  strain 
of  the  tense  arch  of  the  rod  will  soon  bring  him 
to  the  exhaustion  stage,  when  he  can  be  quietly 
netted,  killed,  and  creeled ;  albeit  he  may  recover 
suddenly  when  seemingly  exhausted,  and  make  a 
final  struggle  to  escape  from  your  hand,  as  you 
take  the  hook  from  his  mouth. 

In  playing  a  hooked  trout  you  must  feel  him 
constantly;  your  rod  with  its  elastic  give  and 
take  quality  will  greatly  aid  you  in  doing  this. 
When  necessary,  as  a  trout  runs  toward  you, 
which  infrequently  occurs,  back  away  and  reel  up 
rapidly;  and  when  you  have  him  well  in  hand,  and 
the  line  is  retrieved  on  the  reel  to  a  little  more 


360  The  Trouts  of  America 

than  the  length  of  the  rod,  slide  the  net  under 
him  at  the  first  sign  of  exhaustion.  Above  all 
things  keep  cool,  and  play  the  fish  without  flurry. 
Our  old  master  of  the  craft,  Izaak  Walton,  nearly 
four  hundred  years  ago,  said  to  Venator  on  the 
stream :  — 

"  Why,  now,  let  me  tell  you,  you  lost  that  fish 
by  your  own  fault,  and  through  your  own  eager- 
ness and  haste." 

Bait  fishing  and  fly  fishing,  as  I  have  written, 
are  alike  legitimate  and  sportsmanlike.  The  ad- 
vocates and  followers  of  the  first  method  are  fully 
equal  in  number  to  those  of  the  latter,  and  when 
we  hear  the  remark,  as  not  unfrequently  happens, 
"  Oh !  /  never  fish  with  bait,  /  always  use  flies," 
uttered  in  a  tone  consequential  and  somewhat 
contumacious,  we  can  discount  the  speakers' 
qualities  as  a  man,  and  put  a  low  estimate  upon 
his  skill  as  an  angler ;  a  good  and  gentle  one 
never  brags  or  holds  himself  above  the  humblest 
of  the  craft. 

When  fishing  for  trout  with  bait,  a  fly  rod  with 
light  water  gear  should  always  be  used ;  in  fact, 
the  tackle  should  be  in  no  manner  different  from 
that  handled  in  fly  fishing,  except  the  substitution 
of  a  single  hook  for  the  feathers.  Fishing  with 


Casting  the  Fly  361 

bait  down  a  stream  for  several  seasons  gives  sub- 
stantial experience  to  the  future  fly  fisherman. 
He  will  acquire  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
water  where  the  trout  lie,  their  hours  of  feeding, 
when  on  the  rifts,  and  when  in  the  pools;  the 
situation  of  the  bottom  and  surface  flowing 
springs  near  which  the  trout  love  to  lie ;  the 
character  of  the  banks,  the  trend  of  the  trees  and 
bushes,  where  the  boulders,  logs,  and  other  ob- 
structions are  located  in  the  current,  and  last,  not 
least,  if  he  has  the  true  instinct  of  the  fly  fisher  to 
be  developed  in  the  future,  he  will  note  all  the 
phases  of  insect  life  fluttering  over  and  born  of 
the  water  or  on  the  overhanging  bushes. 

The  bait  fisherman  will  find  no  difficulty  in 
catching  trout  when  a  qualified  freshet  is  on  a 
slightly  clouded  stream.  A  fly-fishing  rod  and 
tackle,  with  a  No.  6  Sproat  hook,  baited  with  a 
moss-scoured  garden  worm,  which  is  to  be  al- 
lowed to  trail  down  the  current,  guided  here  and 
there,  to  the  most  likely  places,  will  usually  fill 
the  creel,  if  the  fish  are  there  and  on  the  feed. 
But  on  a  bright  sunny  day,  when  the  water  is 
low,  a  different  finale  is  apt  to  occur.  Under  such 
a  condition,  the  bait  fisherman  must  bring  into 
play  all  the  caution  and  finesse  of  the  fly-caster 


362  The  Trouts  of  America 

to  insure  success,  and  he  is  mainly  handicapped 
by  the  frequency  of  his  hook  catching  on  the 
bottom,  compelling  him  to  disturb  the  water  by 
wading  into  it  to  release  the  hook. 

We  now  reach  the  subject  of  the  outfit  of  the 
angler,  or  to  use  a  more  modern  and  comprehen- 
sive, but  from  a  phonetic  standpoint,  rather  inap- 
posite, term,  his  impedimenta,  the  rod,  the  line, 
the  hooks,  baits  natural  and  artificial,  and  camp 
equipage  generally.  Of  flies  we  have  treated  in 
previous  chapters  and  in  the  succeeding  one. 
Of  the  rod  I  feel  impelled  to  say  to  the  young 
trout  fisherman  as  I  recently  did  in  Outing:  — 

"  In  selecting  a  rod,  choose  one  that  fits  you 
best.  Select  it  as  you  would  a  coat,  a  pair  of 
shoes,  or  a  cane  to  walk  with.  You  select  those 
because  they  fit  you,  and  you  feel  at  home  in  the 
use  or  wear  of  them.  Does  the  rod  fit  you  as 
you  swing  it  into  the  air  ?  Does  it  balance  well 
in  your  hand,  or  is  there  a  catch  or  interruption 
of  the  harmony  that  should  exist  between  you  ? 
If  so,  discard  it  at  once.  Many  anglers  assert 
that  if  a  rod  don't  fit  them,  they  grow  to  fit  the 
rod,  that  while  they  prefer  a  stiff  one  (or  vice 
versa),  they  work  into  a  whippy  one,  and  do  good 
and  pleasing  execution  with  it.  This  will  do  very 


Casting  the  Fly  363 

well  for  the  old  hand,  who  has  become  sun-dried 
in  all  the  '  tricks  of  the  lure,'  and  can  deliver  a 
fly  daintily  fifty  feet  from  the  end  of  a  bean  pole, 
but  young  anglers  should  take  heed.  Time  and 
application  only  can  make  a  perfect  angler,  if 
such  there  be,  and  there  is  nothing  that  will  act 
so  thoroughly  as  a  set-back  to  the  tyro  as  a  rod 
out  of  joint  with  the  man  who  uses  it." 

In  selecting  your  fishing  tackle  for  the  first 
outfit,  and  until  you  have  found  by  experience 
what  is  best  for  your  use  on  the  stream,  you  will 
necessarily  have  to  depend  upon  your  tackle 
dealer,  hence  be  careful  in  choosing  one  that  is 
entirely  reliable,  and  who  is  also  a  fly  fisher  from 
love  of  the  pastime.  When  purchasing  a  rod, 
tell  him  that  you  want  one  of  six  ounces  and  not 
over  ten  feet,  made  in  what  is  now  called  "  tourna- 
ment style,"  a  strong  caster  with  plenty  of  the 
springing  quality,  but  with  corresponding  back- 
bone. This  will  answer  both  for  bait  and  fly 
fishing.  A  good,  hand-made  split  bamboo  will 
cost  twenty  to  thirty-five  dollars,  but  you  can  get 
one  turned  in  a  machine  for  from  sixty-nine  cents 
to  fifteen  dollars;  the  lower-priced  ones  are  worth- 
less. 

When  selecting  a  reel,  examine  its  mechanism, 


364  The  Trout s  of  America 

which  is  most  durable  when  least  complicated; 
hence  place  no  confidence  in  novel  and  intricate 
reel  devices  until  fully  tried  on  an  outing.  The 
eye  may  be  pleased,  and  the  judgment  seduced 
by  an  attractive,  and  apparently  practical,  "  throw 
off " ;  a  peculiar  click  device,  a  new  thumb 
button  for  a  drag,  or  a  non-revolving  handle  —  all 
of  which  may  be  placed  before  you,  if  not  recom- 
mended, by  the  dealer.  Hence,  be  careful  in 
your  selection,  and  do  not  hesitate  to  ask  your 
older  angling  friends  as  to  the  qualities  of  a  reel 
that  may  have  attracted  your  attention.  See  that 
the  spool  of  the  reel  which  you  select  revolves 
freely  and  smoothly,  without  jar  or  clatter;  that 
the  rivets  and  screws  fit  tightly ;  that  the  reel 
plate  lies  snugly  in  the  reel  seat  of  your  rod ;  that 
the  cross-bars  are  securely  riveted,  or  screwed, 
and  at  proper  distances  apart;  that  the  click 
sounds  full  and  clear,  which  is  measurably  an 
indication  that  the  mechanism  is  well  put  to- 
gether and  the  material  good.  For  either  fly  or 
bait  fishing  for  trout,  the  old-fashioned,  simple 
click-reel,  holding  thirty  yards  of  line,  is  the 
favorite  among  anglers,  and  I  have  never  used 
any  other  on  a  trout  stream.  However,  the  auto- 
matic reel  is  much  liked,  and  such  old  anglers  as 


Casting  the  Fly  365 

Reuben  Wood,  and  others,  used  and  highly 
recommended  it,  but  many  fly  fishers  are  so 
built,  that  they  want  to  give  the  trout  all  the 
chance  it  has  for  liberty,  after  being  hooked,  and 
the  automatic  reel  does  much  of  the  work,  partic- 
ularly in  retrieving,  that  is  incumbent  upon  the 
angler  to  do,  if  he  is  in  full  sympathy  with  the 
fish  that  he  has  fastened.  If  he  is  not,  he  goes 
afishing  merely  for  the  pleasure  of  killing  some- 
thing, just  as  we  sometimes  see  children,  having  a 
similar  instinct,  kill  flies  on  the  window-pane  in 
the  gloaming,  for  the  sport  of  it. 

In  selecting  a  line  you  cannot  go  astray,  for 
the  enamelled  silk  waterproof  is  the  best  you  can 
get,  both  for  bait  and  fly  fishing ;  you  will  want 
not  less  than  thirty  yards  of  the  size  known  as  "  E." 

In  buying  leaders,  select  those  that  are  made 
of  the  best  gut ;  the  strands  should  be  perfectly 
round,  and  transparent,  and  colorless  as  glass ; 
"  it  should  be  hard  to  the  teeth,  and  free  from 
unravelled  fibres  and  knotty  roughness."  I  quote 
the  words  of  an  old  angling  friend  who  knew 
what  he  was  talking  about.  For  fly-fishing  pur- 
poses I  use  leaders  of  nine  feet,  but  for  bait  fish- 
ing, six,  or  even  three,  feet  will  be  a  sufficient 
length. 


366  The  T routs  of  America 

There  is  said  to  be  over  two  thousand  artificial 
flies,  of  various  colors  and  forms,  including  the 
nondescripts,  used  by  anglers  in  both  hemi- 
spheres. To  acquire  even  a  knowledge  of  the 
names  of  these  would  entail  hard  study,  and 
when  acquired,  would  be  more  ornamental  than 
useful.  To  become  familiar  with  their  compara- 
tive killing  qualities,  the  best  hours  and  seasons 
for  using  them,  the  atmospheric  condition  under 
which  they  are  most  effective,  their  integral 
make-up,  with  their  multitudinous  shades  of 
color,  would  entail  years  of  application,  and  con- 
stant intercourse  with  the  members  of  the  craft, 
many  of  whom  evolve  a  new  combination  of 
feathers  every  time  they  visit  a  trout  stream.  As 
before  intimated,  the  tyro  should  enter  upon  his 
novitiate  with  a  few  dozen  standard  flies  in  his 
book ;  selecting  hackles  tied  palmer  fashion,  and 
winged  flies  of  contrasting  colors. 

Natural  and  artificial  baits  for  trout  are  of 
many  diverse  kinds.  Of  the  natural,  the  common 
garden  worm  and  the  live  minnow  are  the  most 
enticing.  Of  the  artificial,  the  phantom  minnow 
for  trolling,  or  use  in  rapid  water,  is  the  only  one 
that  gives  satisfaction,  according  to  the  expe- 
rience of  many  excellent  anglers,  who  sometimes 


Casting  tbe  Fly  367 

forget  themselves,  and  go  atrolling  for  our  be- 
loved fontinalis. 

Of  the  many  makes,  sizes,  and  trade-marks  of 
hooks  three  seem  to  have  gained  prominence 
and  favor  with  the  majority  of  anglers  —  the 
Sproat,  Limerick,  and  Carlisle.  Among  fisher- 
men who  follow  fresh-water  fishing  exclusively, 
opinions  are  divided  as  to  the  relative  values  of 
these  makes,  and  I  am  inclined  to  say  to  the 
young  angler :  "  Don't  bother  about  names  of 
hooks,  or  split  hairs  over  angles  of  draft.  All 
the  makes  named  above  will  catch  a  fish  cleverly, 
if  firmly  hooked  and  properly  handled." 


CHAPTER  X 

HOW  TO   TIE   ARTIFICIAL  FLIES 

To  make  one's  own  flies  is  not  only  an  accom- 
plishment, but  often  a  neccessity.  Occasions  arise 
when  an  angler  exhausts  his  supply  of  a  certain 
fly  at  which  the  trout  are  rising  eagerly.  This 
frequently  occurs  on  the  stream  and  is  a  sad  mis- 
hap, if  the  rodster  has  not  taken  with  him  a  few 
loose  feathers,  a  small  spool  of  silk,  a  skein  of  col- 
ored floss,  and  a  piece  of  shoemaker's  wax.  How 
to  tie  a  fly  must  of  course  be  learned  at  home ;  but 
when  on  the  stream,  this  knowledge  enables  the 
fisherman  to  quickly  dress  a  fly,  crude  though  it 
may  be,  that  will  answer  the  demands  of  the 
hungry  trout. 

I  propose,  briefly  as  possible,  to  state  how  the 
angler  may  learn  the  art  of  fly-tying,  the  material 
necessary  to  use  with  a  description  of  the  dress- 
ings of  most  of  the  flies  in  use  on  trout  streams. 

At  the  beginning  it  is  well  to  provide  yourself 
with  a  tin  box  in  which  to  keep  materials  to  pre- 
vent them  from  being  scattered  about,  and  per- 

368 


How  to  Tie  Artificial  Flies  369 

haps  lost.     I  use  a  tin  cash  box,  7  x  10x4  inches, 
and  find  it  answers  very  well. 

The  next  step  is  to  lay  in  the  necessary  tools, 
consisting  of  a  small  jeweller's  vise,  with 
jaws  not  exceeding  a  half  inch  in  width, 
the  vise  having  an  attachment  to  fasten 
it  to  the  table ;  a  pair  of  sharp-pointed 
embroidery  scissors,  a  pair  of  long  pointed 
pliers,  with  a  small  steel  stiletto,  com- 
pletes the  list.  If  you  find  difficulty  in 
obtaining  the  small  stiletto,  you  can 
substitute  a  large  needle,  and  you  might 
also  add  to  your  stock  of  tools  a  pair  of  VISE> 
spring  steel  nippers  (apply  to  your  tackle  dealer  for 
them),  although  I  seldom  use  either  of  these  tools. 
As  to  materials,  you  should  obtain  a 
supply  of  Sproat  hooks  of  assorted  sizes, 
and  some  silkworm  gut ;  a  skein  or 
two,  each,  of  several  colors  of  silk  floss 
(which  should  be  waterproof,  if  possi- 
ble) ;  and  a  like  quantity  of  many  colors 
of  fine  chenille.  These,  together  with 
a  spool  of  ordinary  sewing  silk,  is  about  all  you 
will  need  in  the  way  of  materials,  outside  of 
feathers,  to  begin  work. 

At  almost  any  of    the  poultry  stands  in  our 

2B 


370  The  Trouts  of  America 

large  markets  you  will  find  at  least  one  employee 
who  saves  all  the  hackles  he  can  obtain,  as  he 
has  probably  long  since  learned  their  value  to 
fly-tiers,  and  often  makes  quite  a  tidy  little  sum 
over  his  weekly  wages  at  the  expense  of  very 
little  time  and  trouble.  The  feathers  you  will 
need  for  a  beginning  are  inexpensive ;  a  few  cents 
is  all  they  should  cost.  Red  and  white  hackles, 
—  those  from  the  neck  of  capons  and  game 
cocks  are  the  best,  but  it  is  advisable  to  get  as 
many  varieties  as  possible,  as  no  fly  can  be  made 
without  these  hackles.  You  will  also  need  some 
colored  tail  feathers  from  turkeys  and  pigeons, 
while  the  mallard  duck  will  furnish  you  with 
some  desirable  feathers  from  his  gray  breast  and 
a  few  dark  brown  shaded  ones  that  grow  on  the 
body  just  back  of  the  shoulders.  All  these  will 
be  found  useful,  as  well  as  some  from  the  guinea 
hen,  and  some  white  and  assorted  chicken  tails. 
Now  that  your  stock  of  feathers  is  in  hand,  it 
would  be  well  to  visit  your  fishing-tackle  dealer 
and  ask  his  assistance  in  getting  some  gold  and 
silver  tinsel  and  mohair  in  various  colors.  The 
latter  you  will  not  need  at  the  start,  but  will  find 
use  for  it  later  on.  These,  together  with  a  small 
piece  of  shoemaker's  wax,  will  be  all  that  is 


How  to  Tie  Artificial  Flies  371 

necessary  to  commence  with ;  but  after  you  have 
mastered  the  art,  many  suggestions  of  little  odds 
and  ends  will  come  to  you  that  will  be  useful. 
Cultivate  your  tackle  man ;  if  he  is  unselfish  and 
kindly  disposed  toward  you,  he  can  assist  in 
many  ways  and  help  to  obtain  the  many  little 
things,  such  as  scarlet  ibis,  wood  duck,  and  blue 
and  yellow  (dyed)  swan,  or  egret  feathers,  which 
you  will  need  later  on. 

As  the  description  of  different  flies  will  call 
for  green,  scarlet,  crimson,  or  some  other  dyed 
color,  you  will  be  obliged  to  dye  some,  or  pay 
your  tackle  dealer  a  good  price  for  them. 

As  it  is  no  harder  to  make  the  reversed  or 
turned-back  wing,  than  the  plain  winged  flies, 
and  as  they  have  a  much  better  appearance,  we 
will  begin  with  that  style  of  wing.  The  "light 
Montreal "  is  a  simple  fly,  therefore  a  good  one 
to  begin  the  first  lesson.  Its  description  is  as 
follows :  tail,  two  or  three  fibres  of  gray  mallard ; 
body,  scarlet  silk  floss  ribbed  with  gold  tinsel ; 
legs,  scarlet  hackle ;  wings,  gray  mallard.  If  the 
description  of  a  fly  does  not  say  how  a  hackle  is 
tied,  it  is  always  understood  to  be  tied  at  the 
shoulder  only. 

Fasten  your  vise  properly  to  your  work  table, 


The  Trouts  of  America 

and  place  in  it  a  No.  8  Sproat  hook  with  the 
shank  pointing  toward  the  right.  (This  size 
hook  is  a  very  convenient  size  to  work  with.) 
The  hook  should  be  seized  in  the  jaws  of  the  vise 
by  the  bend  only.  Now  break  off  from  twelve 
to  fifteen  inches  of  your  binding  silk,  and  wax  it 
thoroughly  with  your  shoemaker's  wax  by  draw- 
ing the  thread  over  it  eight  or  more  times.  You 
can  do  this  better  by  folding  a  small  piece  of 
leather,  and,  placing  your  wax  in  the  fold,  draw 
the  thread  over  it.  The  pressure  of  your  thumb 
and  fingers  while  holding  the  leather  will  wipe 
off  all  superfluous  lumps  of  wax  that  adhere  to 
the  thread,  and  leave  it  nice  and  smooth.  This 
method  has  another  advantage  in  keeping  your 
hands  clean  of  the  wax,  as  the  feathers,  silk,  and 
other  materials  would  otherwise 
stick  to  the  fingers,  or  other 
f  portion  of  the  hand. 
^^^  Your  thread  now  being  prop- 
<IG'  **  erly  waxed,  give  it  five  or  six 

turns  around  the  hook,  being  sure  to  carry  it  up 
to  the  extreme  end  of  the  hook  as  in  Figure  i. 
This  is  contrary  to  all  methods  of  the  profes- 
sional fly-dresser,  as  it  is  his  custom  to  leave  a 
little  space  at  the  end  of  the  hook,  but  it  is  just 


How  to  Tie  Artificial  Flies  373 

at  this  point  that  the  gut  generally  breaks,  and 
if  a  wrapping  or  two  of  thread  is  placed  between 
the  gut  and  the  hook,  it  will  act  as  a  cushion  and 
prevent  the  gut  from  chafing  on  the  sharp  end 
of  the  shank. 

Now  we  are  ready  to  lay  on  the  gut,  which 
should  have  been  soaked  a  few  minutes  in  luke- 
warm water,  and  bind  it  on  with  the  binding  silk, 
all  the  while  keeping  quite  as  much  strain  on  the 
silk  as  it  will  stand  without  parting.  The  gut, 
owing  to  its  having  been  soaked,  will  be  soft  and 
the  strain  on  the  silk  will  make  little  indentations 
in  it,  and  these,  together  with  the  sticky  wax,  and 
the  few  turns  of  silk  between  the  gut  and  the 
shank  of  the  hook,  will  hold  it  firmly.  It  would 
be  well,  however,  to  test  it  by  giving  a  strong, 
steady  pull  at  the  gut  after  it  is  fastened  on. 

Before  you  put  on  the  last  two  or  three  turns 
of  the  binding  silk,  place  the  end  of  a  strip  of 
tinsel,  two  or  three  fibres  of  gray  mallard  feather, 
and  the  end  of  a  short  piece  of  silk  floss  so  that 
these  last  wrappings  will  fasten  them.  The  floss 
should  be  prepared  first  by  untwisting  it.  As 
silk  floss  is  only  of  two  strands,  this  is  easily 
done  by  parting  the  strands  at  one  end  and  sepa- 
rating them,  and  then  lay  together  again  with- 


374 


Tbe  Trouts  of  America 


out  twisting.     Your  work  at  this  stage  will  have 
the  appearance  shown  in  Figure  2. 


FIG.  2. 


Now  take  a  gray  mallard  feather  and  lay  its 
convex  side  up,  with  the  end  extending  out  over 
the  snood,  and  wrap  it  on  with  the  binding  silk 
as  in  Figure  3.  This  feather  should  extend  out 


FIG.  3. 


over  the  snood  far  enough  to  allow  it  to  reach 
the  bend  of  the  hook,  when  it  is  turned  back  for 


How  to  Tie  Artificial  Flies  375 

a  wing.  By  laying  this  feather  on  and  wrapping 
it  the  full  length  of  the  body,  it  fills  out  the  body 
and  takes  the  place  of  wool  or  some  other  mate- 
rial that  otherwise  you  would  have  to  use. 

Next  take  the  end  of  your  silk  floss  and  wind 
it,  without  twisting,  around  the  hook,  making  the 


FIG.  4. 


body  of  your  fly  of  good  shape  by  giving  an 
extra  wind  where  necessary.  Stop  about  an 
eighth  of  an  inch  from  the  end  of  the  shank  to 
allow  room  for  legs,  and  fasten  it  by  two  or  three 
turns  of  the  binding  silk.  After  this  wind  your 
tinsel  over  the  silk,  first  giving  it  two  or  three 
turns  around  the  bend  of  the  hook  and  fasten  it 
by  a  turn  or  two  of  the  binding  silk.  Now  take 


The  Trouts  of  America 


a  hackle  feather,  which  for  this  fly  must  be  dyed 
scarlet.  Hold  it  at  the  extreme  point  by  the 
thumb  and  finger  of  one  hand,  and  with  the 
other  thumb  and  finger  stroke  down  the  fibres  of 
the  feather  toward  the  butt,  thus  leaving  the  point 
standing  out  by  itself.  Catch  this  point  now  to 
your  fly  by  a  couple  of  turns  of  the  binding  silk, 
and  your  work  should  look  like  Figure  4. 

We  have   now  reached    the   point   where   the 
most  difficult  work  of   fly-tying   begins,  that   of 

putting  on  the 
hackle  properly. 
Take  your  hackle 
feather  by  the 
stem  and  wind  it 
once  around  the 
hook;  wind  from 
you.  Then  with 
your  left  thumb 
and  finger  smooth 
back  toward  the  bend  of  the  hook  the  part  that 
is  wound.  Hold  it  in  that  position  and  give  your 
hackle  a  second  turn,  then  repeat  the  holding  back 
process  and  another  turn.  Continue  this  until  you 
have  sufficient  hackle  on  to  form  the  legs  of  your 
fly  and  fasten  the  end  by  two  turns  of  your  bind- 


FIG.  5. 


How  to  Tie  Artificial  Flies  377 

ing  silk.  Now  pick  out  with  your  stiletto  the 
fibres  that  have  been  wound  under  and  cut  off 
the  end  of  the  feather  not  used,  giving  four  or 
five  turns  with  the  binding  silk  to  hold  it  se- 
curely. At  this  point  your  fly  should  look  like 
Figure  5. 

If  your  hackle   does  not  wind  on  evenly  and 
too  many  fibres  are  wound  under,  unwind  it  be- 


FIG.  6. 


fore  you  cut  off  the  end  and  rewind  it,  and  you 
will  find  it  will  go  on  all  right.  This  winding  of 
the  hackle  will  need  more  practice  than  all  the 
rest  of  the  work.  Now  turn  back  your  wing  to 
its  proper  position,  give  it  one  wrap  of  the  bind- 
ing silk  and  two  half-hitches,  and  your  fly  will  be 
complete  as  in  Figure  6. 

When   the   work   is   finished,  put   a  touch  of 
shellac  to   the  knot  to  prevent  it  from  slipping 


378  The  Trouts  of  America 

and  to  make  it  waterproof.  Don't  tie  your  bind- 
ing silk  at  all  until  the  fly  is  finished,  then  put  a 
couple  of  half-hitches  only,  for  if  you  have  put 
a  proper  amount  of  shoemaker's  wax  on  your 
binding  thread  you  will  not  need  any  knots,  as 
when  you  drop  the  thread  at  different  stages  it 
will  stick  of  its  own  accord  and  not  become  loose. 

We  will  now  try  an  ordinary  brown  hackle  or 
palmer  fly  with  a  red  silk  body.  Wrap  on  your 
snood  as  before  explained,  and  carry  your  bind- 
ing silk  well  down  to  the  bend  of  the  hook. 
Attach  a  short  piece  of  gold  tinsel,  and  after  giv- 
ing it  two  or  three  turns  around  the  bend  of  the 
hook,  fasten  it  and  cut  off  the  end.  This  tinsel 
is  not  absolutely  necessary,  but  a  slight  show  of 
the  bright  metal  at  the  end  of  the  body  of  all 
flies  gives  a  finish  and  makes  a  better-looking 
lury. 

Prepare  your  hackle  (a  brown  one)  by  stroking 
back  the  fibres,  so  as  to  leave  the  point  free,  and 
fasten  it  right  above  the  tinsel.  Then,  after 
having  fastened  a  piece  of  red  silk  next  to  the 
hackle  (the  silk  should  be  split  as  described  be- 
fore), carry  your  binding  thread  forward  to  the 
end  of  the  shank.  This  may  be  accomplished 
by  giving  it  two  or  three  turns  around  the  body. 


How  to  Tie  Artificial  Flies 


379 


Now  wind  the  body  with  the  silk  floss,  being 
careful  to  stop  about  one-eighth  of  an  inch  from 


FIG.  7. 

the  end  of  the  shank  to  allow  room  for  the  head. 
At  this  stage  your  work  should  be  like  Figure  7. 
Now  seize  the  hackle  by  the  stem,  and  wind 
it   spirally  around    the   body,  gradually  working 
toward  the  head 
(see  Figure  8),  at 
each  turn  press- 
ing    back     the 
fibres  with  your 
left  thumb  and 
finger    to    pre- 
vent them  from 
being       caught 

under  the  next  turn.     You  will  find  that  in  this 
process  your  hackle  will  go  on  much  easier  and 


FIG.  8. 


380  The  T routs  of  America 

with  less  chance  of  the  fibres  becoming  wrapped 
under  than  it  did  in  winding  of  the  hackle  at  the 
shoulder  only  as  on  the  previous  hook.  When 
you  reach  the  end  of  the  body,  give  two  or  three 
turns  of  the  hackle  at  this  point  to  allow  a  little 
fulness,  then  fasten  the  end  with  several  turns 
of  your  binding  silk,  which  must  be  wound 


FIG.  9. 

evenly  and  nice  to  form  the  head.     Now  compare 
your  work  with  Figure  9. 

In  fastening  the  binding  silk  you  may  either 
use  a  half-hitch  or  two,  or  tie  an  invisible  knot, 
which  is  much  nicer.  This  is  made  as  follows : 
Hold  the  binding  silk  with  your  right  hand  about 
an  inch  and  a  half  or  two  inches  from  the  end  of 
the  hook ;  hold  it  toward  the  right  and  with  your 
left  hand  bring  around  the  end  over  the  head 
of  the  hook,  thus  forming  a  loop  as  in  Figure 
10.  Now  catch  your  thread  with  your  right 


How  to  Tie  Artificial  Flies 


381 


hand  at  about  the  point  marked  A,  and  give  it 
four  turns  around  the  head  of  the  hook  as  shown 


FIG.  10. 


in  Figure  n.     Place  your  left  thumb  to  hold  it 
tight  and  poke  the  end  of  the  snood  through  the 


FIG.  ii. 


loop  four  times  to  untwist  it ;  then  take  the  loose 
end  and  draw  it  tight.      After  this,  cut  off  the 


382  The  Trouts  of  America 

loose  end  close  up,  and  give  it  a  coat  of  shellac, 
and  your  palmer  fly  is  complete. 

When  you  have  learned  to  do  what  I  have 
described  up  to  this  point,  and  practised  enough 
to  be  able  to  do  it  well,  you  may  call  yourself  a 
fly-tier,  as  the  fancy  flies  are  but  slight  variations 
from  the  standard  ones.  The  very  fancy  and 
gaudy  ones  used  for  salmon  and  sea-trout  are 
certainly  very  difficult  to  dress  properly,  but  after 
you  have  had  practice,  it  will  come  to  you  without 
much  difficulty. 

As  a  specimen  of  the  variations  we  will  next 

take  up  the  Royal  Coach- 
man. Wrap  your  snood 
as  usual,  and  give  a  slight 
show  of  gold  tinsel  at 
the  butt.  Select  three 
strands  of  peacock  herl 
and  fasten  them  the  same 
as  you  did  the  hackle 
feather  in  tying  a  palmer ; 
take  the  three  together 
and  wind  them  around 
the  shank  of  the  hook 

for  a  short  distance,  then  catch    the  ends  with 
two  turns  of   the   binding   silk;    with  two  turns 


How  to  Tie  Artificial  Flies  383 

more  catch  in  some  bright  red  floss,  and  hold- 
ing the  loose  strands  of  herl  along  the  shank, 
wind  the  silk  over  both  of  them  and  the  shank 
about  three  times;  fasten  the  floss,  cut  off  the 
end,  and  carry  your 
binding  silk  up  to  the 
head,  when  your  work 
should  appear  like  Fig- 
ure 12.  Now  carry 
out  the  balance  of  the 
body  with  the  peacock 
herl,  put  on  the  legs,  FlG'  I3' 

and  tie  back  your  wings,  and  the  fly  is  made,  as 
shown  in  Figure   13. 

Having  described,  in  as  simple  a  manner  as 
possible,  the  method  of  dressing  ordinary  flies, 
I  will  now  give  a  list  of  those  flies  in  general  use, 
making  comments  from  time  to  time,  when  oc- 
casion requires,  of  any  special  style  of  dressing. 
I  will  not  give  an  additional  list  of  feathers  and 
materials  required,  as  all  this  knowledge  may  be 
gained  from  the  descriptions  of  the  flies. 

Brown  Palmer  or  Hackle.  —  Body,  red  silk  floss 
ribbed  with  gold  tinsel;  legs,  brown  hackle 
wound  whole  length  of  body.  This  fly  may  be 
varied  by  using  for  the  body  yellow  or  green 


384  The  Trouts  of  America 

silk  floss,  peacock  or  ostrich  herl.  Where  the 
herl  is  used  there  should  be  only  a  slight  show 
of  tinsel  at  butt.  The  fly  may  be  further  changed 
by  adding  to  any  of  these  variations  a  tail  of 
either  scarlet  ibis  or  yellow  feathers. 

Gray  Palmer.  —  This  fly  is  dressed  in  the  same 
manner  and  with  all  the  variations  as  in  the 
brown  palmer,  using  gray  hackle  instead  of  brown. 

Ginger  Palmer.  —  Body,  yellow  silk  floss  ribbed 
with  silver  tinsel ;  legs,  pale  ginger  hackle  wound 
whole  length  of  body. 

Grizzly  Palmer.  —  Body,  orange  silk  floss  ribbed 
with  gold  tinsel ;  legs,  white  hackle  wound  whole 
length  of  body. 

Coch-y-bon-dhu  (Marlow  Buzz).  —  Body,  bright 
green  peacock  herl,  with  a  slight  show  of  gold  at 
butt ;  legs,  brown  hackle  wound  at  shoulder  only. 

Abbey.  —  Tail,  two  or  three  fibres  of  golden 
pheasant  tippet  feather;  body,  red  wound  with  gold 
tinsel ;  legs,  brown  hackle ;  wings,  gray  widgeon. 

Grizzly  King.  —  Tail,  red ;  body,  green  ribbed 
with  gold  tinsel;  legs,  furnace-gray  hackle; 
wings,  gray  mallard. 

Professor.  —  Tail,  scarlet  ibis ;  body,  yellow  silk 
floss  ribbed  with  gold  tinsel ;  legs,  brown  hackle ; 
wings,  gray  mallard. 


Artificial  Flies  385 

Rube  Wood.  —  Tail,  brown  mallard ;  tag,  red 
silk  floss  with  a  turn  of  gold  tinsel ;  body,  white 
chenille ;  legs,  brown  hackle ;  wings,  gray  mal- 
lard. 

Dusty  Miller.  —  Tail,  two  or  three  fibres  of 
gray  mallard ;  body,  dark  gray  mohair,  ribbed 
with  narrow  gold  tinsel  (this  ribbing  is  some- 
times omitted);  legs,  gray  hackle;  wings,  dirty 
gray  turkey. 

Light  Montreal.  —  Tail,  gray  mallard ;  body, 
scarlet  ribbed  with  gold  tinsel ;  legs,  scarlet 
hackle ;  wings,  gray  mallard. 

Dark  Montreal.  —  Tail,  scarlet  ibis ;  body,  crim- 
son mohair,  ribbed  with  gold  tinsel ;  legs,  crimson 
hackle ;  wings,  wild  turkey. 

Queen  of  the  Waters.  —  Body,  orange  silk  floss 
ribbed  with  gold  tinsel ;  legs,  brown  hackle  wound 
whole  length  of  body ;  wings,  gray  mallard. 

King  of  the  Waters.  —  Same  as  Queen,  except 
with  red  silk  floss  for  body. 

Cahill.  —  Tail,  gray  mallard;  body,  mouse-col- 
ored mohair,  with  slight  show  of  gold  at  butt ; 
legs,  brown  hackle ;  wings,  side  feather  (not 
barred)  from  wood  duck. 

Green  Drake.  —  Tail,  lead  color  (blue  heron) ; 
body,  white  ribbed  with  black  silk;  legs,  brown 

2C 


386  The  Trout s  of  America 

hackle;  wings,  side  feather  (not  barred)  of  wood 
duck  dyed  yellow. 

Gray  Drake.  —  Tail,  gray  mallard ;  body,  white, 
ribbed  with  black  silk ;  legs,  gray  hackle ;  wings, 
gray  mallard. 

March  Brown.  —  Tail,  Scotch  grouse ;  body, 
dark  brown,  ribbed  with  yellow  silk;  legs,  Scotch 
grouse ;  wings,  Scotch  grouse. 

Shoemaker.  —  Tail,  side  feather  (not  barred)  of 
wood  duck ;  body,  alternate  bands  of  salmon  and 
lead-colored  silk,  wound  over  with  gut;  legs, 
brown  hackle;  wings,  gray  mallard  and  wood 
duck  (not  barred). 

Oak  Fly.  —  Body,  orange,  ribbed  with  black 
silk;  legs,  brown  hackle;  wings,  mottled  brown 
turkey.  (The  wing  coverts  of  the  quail  make  a 
good  wing  for  this  fly.) 

Grannom. — Tag,  green  silk  floss  with  slight  show 
of  gold  tinsel;  body,  gray  mohair  picked  out  at 
shoulder  to  represent  legs ;  wing,  pale  gray  turkey. 

Seth  Green.  —  Body,  green  silk  floss,  ribbed 
with  yellow  silk ;  legs,  brown  hackle ;  wings, 
light  brown  mottled  turkey. 

Brown  Hen.  —  Tag,  red  silk  floss ;  body,  pea- 
cock herl ;  legs,  brown  hackle ;  wings,  dark 
mottled  brown  turkey. 


Artificial  Flies  387 

Stone  Fly  or  Caddis.  —  Tail,  brown  mallard ; 
body,  olive-colored  mohair,  picked  out  at  shoul- 
der to  represent  legs ;  wings,  curlew  or  light 
feathers  from  wing  of  night  heron. 

Spider.  —  Body,  lead-colored  silk  floss  with 
slight  show  of  gold  tinsel  at  butt;  legs,  black 
hackle ;  wings,  wild  turkey. 

Alder.  —  Body,  peacock  herl  with  slight  show 
of  gold  tinsel  at  butt ;  legs,  black  hackle ;  wings, 
mottled  brown  turkey.  With  lead-colored  wings, 
this  fly  is  also  called  a  gray  alder. 

Hare's  Ear.  —  Body,  mouse-colored  mohair, 
picked  out  at  shoulder  to  represent  legs ;  wings, 
lead  color. 

Pale  Blue  Dun.  —  Tail,  a  few  fibres  of  pale  blue 
feather;  body,  mouse-colored  mohair;  legs,  gray 
hackle ;  wings,  pale  lead  color. 

Iron  Blue  Dun.  —  Tail,  English  starling;  body, 
blue-gray  mohair,  ribbed  with  yellow  silk;  legs, 
brown  hackle ;  wings,  starling. 

Beaverkill.  —  Body,  white  silk  floss,  with  slight 
show  of  gold  tinsel  at  butt ;  legs,  brown  hackle 
wound  whole  length  of  body;  wings,  blue  heron. 

Red  Fox.  —  Tail,  two  fibres  of  gray  mallard ; 
body,  dirty  red  mohair;  legs,  brown  hackle; 
wings,  lead  color. 


388  The  Trouts  of  America 

Cowdung.  —  Body,  orange  mohair,  with  slight 
show  of  gold  tinsel  at  butt ;  legs,  ginger  hackle ; 
wings,  light  curlew. 

Coachman.  —  Body,  peacock  herl ;  legs,  brown 
hackle ;  wings,  white. 

Royal  Coachman.  Body,  peacock  herl,  with  a 
band  of  bright  red  silk  floss  around  the  middle ; 
legs,  brown  hackle ;  wings,  white. 

Golden  Spinner.  —  Tail,  two  fibres  from  ginger 
hackle ;  body,  yellow  silk  floss,  ribbed  with 
gold  tinsel ;  legs,  brown  hackle ;  wings,  blue 
heron. 

Red  Spinner.  —  Tail,  two  fibres  from  brown 
hackle ;  body,  red  silk  floss  ribbed  with  gold ; 
legs,  brown  hackle ;  wings,  blue  heron. 

Jenny  Spinner.  —  Tag,  brown  silk  floss ;  tail, 
black  fitch  hair  (two  or  three  fibres  from  glossy 
black  hackle  will  do  in  place  of  fitch  hair) ;  body 
divided  into  three  parts,  upper  and  lower  parts 
brown  silk  floss  and  middle  part  white  silk ;  legs, 
gray  hackle  ;  wings,  pale  lead  color. 

Blue  Bottle.  —  Body,  blue  chenille  ribbed  with 
black  silk;  legs,  black  hackle,  wings,  dark  lead 
color.  Certain  parties  claim  that  the  body  of  this 
fly  should  be  made  of  a  peculiar  shade  of  steel-blue 
silk  floss.  It  is  impossible  to  describe  this  shade, 


Artificial  Flies  389 

and  a  specimen  of  the  fly  must  be  seen ;  ask  your 
tackle  dealer  to  show  you  one. 

Bee.  —  Body,  yellow  chenille,  with  a  band  of 
black  silk  floss  around  centre ;  legs,  brown  hackle ; 
wings,  blue  heron. 

Dark  Fox.  —  Tail,  gray  mallard ;  body,  dark 
lead-colored  mohair,  picked  out  at  shoulder  to 
represent  legs ;  wings,  lead  color. 

Black  Gnat.  —  Body,  black  ostrich  herl ;  legs, 
black  hackle ;  wings,  dark  lead  color  from  the 
darkest  feathers  of  the  blue  heron.  This  fly  is 
often  tied  with  black  wings,  but  I  think  this  is 
wrong.  When  it  is  tied  on  a  No.  10  or  smaller 
hook,  as  is  generally  the  case,  the  legs  may  be 
omitted.  This  fly  is  sometimes  tied  with  an  orange 
silk  floss  tag;  it  is  then  called  McBride's  black  gnat. 

Claret  Gnat.  —  Body,  claret-colored  mohair, 
picked  out  at  shoulder  to  represent  legs  (some- 
times claret  hackle  is  used  for  legs) ;  wings,  lead 
color. 

Black  Midge.  —  Body,  black  silk  floss  ribbed 
with  fine  silver  tinsel ;  legs,  black  hackle ;  wings, 
dark  lead  color. 

Light  Claret.  —  Body,  claret  silk  floss,  with  slight 
show  of  gold  tinsel  at  butt ;  legs,  claret  hackle ; 
wings,  blue  heron. 


39°  The  Trouts  of  America 

Dark  Claret.  —  Same  as  the  light  claret ;  except 
that  black  hackle  is  used  for  legs  in  place  of  claret. 

Yellow  Sallie.  —  Body,  pale  yellow  silk  floss 
ribbed  with  gold  tinsel ;  legs,  pale  yellow  hackle ; 
wings,  pale  yellow. 

Yellow  May.  —  Tail,  yellow ;  body,  yellow  silk 
floss,  with  slight  show  of  gold  tinsel  at  butt ;  legs, 
yellow  hackle;  wings,  gray  mallard  dyed  bright 
yellow. 

Jenny  Lind.  —  Tail,  bright  blue ;  body,  deep 
yellow  silk  floss  ribbed  with  gold  tinsel ;  legs, 
claret  hackle ;  wings,  bright  blue. 

McBride's  Professor.  —  Tail,  scarlet  ibis;  body, 
yellow  silk  wound  with  gut  and  peacock  sword  at 
shoulder ;  legs,  brown  hackle ;  wings,  mixed  wood 
duck  (not  barred)  and  mallard  all  dyed  yellow. 

Black  Ant.  —  Tag,  black  ostrich  herl ;  body, 
black  silk  floss  with  black  ostrich  herl  at  shoulder; 
legs,  black  hackle ;  wings,  grayish  blue. 

Scarlet  Ibis. — Tail,  scarlet  ibis ;  body,  red,  ribbed 
with  gold  tinsel ;  legs,  scarlet ;  wings,  scarlet  ibis. 

Raven.  —  Body,  dark  green,  ribbed  with  gold 
tinsel ;  legs,  black  hackle ;  wings,  black. 

White  Miller.  —  Body,  white  silk  floss,  ribbed 
with  silver  tinsel ;  legs,  white  hackle ;  wings,  pure 
white. 


Artificial  Flies  391 

Blue  Professor.  —  Tail,  scarlet  ibis ;  body,  bright 
blue  silk ;  legs,  brown  hackle ;  wings,  lead  color. 

Cinnamon.  —  Tail,  two  fibres  of  cinnamon-col- 
ored feather;  body,  cinnamon  silk  floss  ribbed 
with  silver  tinsel ;  legs,  brown  hackle ;  wings, 
cinnamon  color.  This  fly  is  sometimes  dressed 
with  peacock-herl  body,  and  is  then  called  cinna- 
mon with  peacock  body.  A  good  cinnamon- 
colored  feather  is  very  difficult  to  obtain.  The 
wings  and  tail  of  the  Bird  of  Paradise  are  the  only 
good  colored  ones  the  writer  knows  of.  The  name 
sounds  expensive,  but  in  reality  these  birds  are 
cheap,  as,  after  the  said  plumes  have  been  pulled 
out  for  millinery  purposes,  the  bodies  become 
worthless,  and  may  be  purchased  for  a  few  cents. 

Lowery.  —  Tag,  yellow  silk ;  body,  peacock 
herl ;  legs,  brown  hackle ;  wings,  cinnamon  color. 

Jungle  Cock.  —  Tail,  scarlet  ibis ;  body,  red, 
ribbed  with  gold  tinsel ;  legs,  claret  hackle ;  wings, 
jungle  cock  rump  hackle. 

Epting.  —  Tail,  two  or  three  fibres  of  ginger 
hackle ;  body  divided  in  three  joints,  lower  joint, 
red  silk  floss,  middle  joint,  orange  silk  floss,  and 
upper  joint,  bright  yellow  silk  floss,  all  ribbed 
with  gold  tinsel ;  legs,  black  hackle ;  wings,  wid- 
geon or  teal. 


The  Trouts  of  America 

Adirondack.  —  Tag,  yellow  silk ;  tail,  a  few 
fibres  of  black  hackle  or  black  seal  fur ;  body, 
reddish  brown  mohair ;  legs,  orange  hackle ; 
wings,  white,  with  jungle  cock  shoulders. 

Nearly  all  the  foregoing  flies  may  be  varied 
and  made  a  little  more  elaborate  by  adding 
shoulders  of  jungle  cock,  as  in  the  last  two. 
Now  we  come  to  the  fly  that  is  tied  any  way  and 
any  how.  No  two  dealers  or  professionals  dress 
it  alike.  The  Silver  Doctor  is  used  everywhere  on 
all  streams,  and  is,  I  might  say,  about  the  most 
popular  fly  in  use. 

For  ordinary  trout  fishing  the  Silver  Doctor  is 
not  dressed  so  elaborately  as  for  bass  or  salmon. 
The  one  for  trout  is  tied  as  follows :  — 

Tag,  gold-colored  silk  floss  ribbed  with  silver 
twist ;  tail,  a  few  fibres  of  golden  pheasant  tippet ; 
body,  red,  and  ribbed  quite  closely  with  silver  tin- 
sel (the  body  is  sometimes  of  silver  tinsel,  ribbed 
with  red  silk  or  wool) ;  legs,  blue  hackle ;  wings, 
strips  of  blue,  yellow,  barred  wood  duck,  dark 
turkey,  bustard,  scarlet  ibis,  and  white ;  head,  red 
wool.  In  tying  this  fly  for  large  trout  or  bass 
add  a  few  legs  of  guinea  over  the  blue  hackle. 

Ashy.  —  Body,  orange ;  legs,  a  peculiar  ashy 
shade  of  hackle  wound  the  whole  length  of  body. 


Artificial  Flies  393 

Bob  BarnwelFs  Ashy.  —  Body,  yellowish  green 
mohair  ribbed  with  peacock  herl  and  a  strip  of 
yellow  mohair  laid  along  each  side;  legs  ashy 
hackle  wound  whole  length  of  the  body ;  head, 
red  wool. 

The  amateur  will  have  great  trouble  in  procur- 
ing the  peculiar  shade  of  hackle  for  the  two  last 
flies.  It  would  be  well  to  buy  an  "  ashy  "  from 
some  reliable  house,  and  keep  it  handy  to  match 
the  feather  at  the  first  opportunity. 

The  Francis.  —  Tail,  dark  gray  hackle  ;  body, 
peacock  herl  ribbed  with  heavy  cord  of  red  silk 
floss ;  legs,  dark  gray  hackle  tied  part  way  down 
the  body;  wings,  two  dark  gray  hackle  feathers 
matched. 

Magalloway.  — Tail,  short  fibres  of  yellow  and 
blue  macaw;  body,  lower  half  brown  mohair  and 
upper  half  black  ostrich  herl  ribbed  with  gold 
twist ;  legs,  gray  hackle ;  wings,  brown  feather 
from  peacock  primary;  head,  black  ostrich  herl. 
In  using  the  brown  primaries  of  the  peacock,  the 
amateur  will  have  great  trouble  to  get  them  to  lie 
gracefully.  A  feather  of  the  same  shade  is  found 
in  the  two  upright  feathers  of  the  wings  of  the 
mandarin  duck.  The  fibres  of  the  latter  are  not  so 
harsh  as  the  peacock,  and  are  much  easier  to  tie. 


394  The  Trouts  of  America 

Bemis  Stream.  —  Tail,  golden  pheasant  top- 
ping; body,  brown  mohair,  ribbed  with  gold  tin- 
sel; legs,  brown  hackle;  wings,  strips  of  brown 
peacock  and  dark  and  light  bustard ;  head,  black 
ostrich  herl. 

Oquassac.  —  Tag,  yellow  silk  floss ;  tail,  sprigs 
of  argus  feathers  and  golden  pheasant  topping; 
body,  claret  mohair,  ribbed  with  pink  silk  floss ; 
legs,  claret  hackle ;  wings,  argus  feather  (pri- 
mary) ;  head,  black  ostrich  herl. 

Tinselled  Ibis.  —  Tail,  a  few  fibres  of  barred 
wood  duck  and  scarlet  ibis;  body,  silver  tinsel 
ribbed  with  gold  twist;  legs,  scarlet  hackle; 
wings,  matched  scarlet  ibis  feathers,  with  strips 
of  barred  wood  duck  on  each  side. 

Chateaugay.  —  Tail,  a  few  fibres  of  brown  mal- 
lard; body,  lemon-yellow  silk  floss  ribbed  with 
gold  twist;  legs,  ginger  hackle  wound  from  tail 
to  shoulder;  wings,  strips  from  widgeon  and 
argus ;  head,  black  ostrich  herl. 

Mooselookmaguntic.  —  Tail,  a  few  fibres  of  argus 
pheasant ;  body,  equal  parts  of  gray  squirrel  fur 
and  light  green  mohair  ribbed  with  gold  twist ; 
legs,  brown  hackle ;  wings,  gray  speckled  turkey 
dyed  yellow,  with  a  strip  of  argus  on  each  side ; 
head,  green  ostrich  herl. 


Artificial  Flies  395 

Rangeley.  —  Tail,  a  few  fibres  of  barred  wood 
duck  and  scarlet  ibis ;  body,  dark  claret  mohair 
ribbed  with  gold  tinsel ;  legs,  dark  claret  hackle ; 
wings,  strips  of  wood  duck  (barred)  mixed  with  a 
little  wild  turkey  and  scarlet  ibis. 

Deacon.  —  Tail,  gray  mallard  ;  body,  yellow  mo- 
hair ribbed  with  silver  and  gold  tinsel ;  legs, 
yellow  hackle  wound  from  tail  to  shoulder ;  wings, 
gray  mallard ;  head,  black  ostrich. 

Blue  Jay. — Tail,  scarlet  ibis;  body,  scarlet  mo- 
hair ribbed  with  gold  tinsel ;  legs,  scarlet  hackle ; 
wings,  matched  feathers  from  English  blue  jays. 

Dark  Argus.  —  Tail,  fibres  of  yellow,  white, 
scarlet  ibis,  and  wood  duck ;  body,  lower  half  red 
silk  floss  ribbed  with  silver  tinsel,  upper  half 
bluish  gray  chenille ;  legs,  crimson  hackle,  with 
blue  hackle  over;  wings,  matched  feathers  from 
back  of  red-breasted  argus. 

Black  Prince.  —  Tail,  scarlet  ibis  ;  body,  silver 
tinsel ;  legs,  black  hackle  ;  wings,  black. 

Parmachenee  Belle.  —  Tail,  scarlet  ibis  mixed 
with  white  ;  body,  pale  yellow  mohair  ribbed  with 
gold ;  legs,  scarlet  and  white  hackle  mixed ; 
wings,  mixed  scarlet  ibis  and  white.  In  putting 
on  the  legs  of  this  fly,  wind  on  the  scarlet  and 
white  hackle  together. 


396  Tbe  Trouts  of  America 

Prouty.  —  Tag,  orange  silk  floss  ribbed  with 
silver  twist ;  tail,  golden  pheasant  topping,  with  a 
few  fibres  of  English  blue  jay ;  body,  lower  half 
silver  twist,  upper  half  black  ostrich  herl  ribbed 
with  silver  twist ;  legs,  yellow  (dyed)  furnace 
hackle  wound  over  upper  half  of  body;  wings, 
mixed  teal  and  yellow  feather  and  a  little 
scarlet  ibis  and  red  macaw;  head,  black  ostrich 
herl. 

June  Spinner.  —  Body,  black  ostrich  herl  wound 
with  silver  tinsel ;  legs,  black  hackle ;  wings,  black. 

Cupsuptuc.  —  Tail,  golden  pheasant  topping ; 
body,  silver  tinsel  wound  with  gold  twist;  legs, 
bright  scarlet  hackle  wound  from  tail  to  shoul- 
der ;  wings,  mixed  fibres  of  brown  turkey  tipped 
with  white,  brown  mallard,  golden  pheasant  tail, 
and  guinea  hen ;  head,  black  ostrich  herl. 

Doodle  Bug  or  Kadoodle  Bug.  —  Tag,  green  silk 
floss ;  tail,  gray  mallard  dyed  pale  yellow ;  body, 
lower  half  pale  yellow,  upper  half  orange  and 
ribbed  with  gold  twist ;  legs,  brown  hackle  wound 
full  length  of  body;  wings,  brown  turkey. 

Conroy.  —  Tag,  peacock  herl  from  sword  feather; 
body,  crimson  silk  floss ;  legs,  green  hackle,  with 
guinea  hackle  over ;  wings,  matched  feathers  from 
the  white-tipped  tertials  of  mallard  duck. 


Artificial  Flies  397 

Turkey. — Tail,  scarlet  ibis ;  body,  yellow  mohair 
ribbed  with  gold  tinsel ;  legs,  brown  hackle ; 
wings,  brown  turkey. 

Saranac.  —  Tail,  golden  pheasant  topping ;  body, 
claret  silk  floss  ribbed  with  gold  and  silver  twist ; 
legs,  claret  hackle  wound  from  tail  to  shoulder ; 
wings,  matched  golden  pheasant's  tippets  with 
strips  of  brown  mallard  and  argus  pheasant  on 
each  side. 

Lightning  Bug  or  Firefly.  —  Body,  lower  third, 
yellow  silk  floss,  upper  two  thirds  gray  mohair, 
ribbed  with  gold  tinsel ;  legs,  gray  hackle  wound 
full  length  of  body,  with  grouse  hackle  at  shoul- 
der; wings,  brown  turkey. 

Wood  Duck.  —  Tail,  wood  duck;  body,  bright 
yellow  mohair  ribbed  with  silver;  legs,  bright 
yellow  hackle;  wings,  matched  wood  duck 
feathers. 

Hopatcong.  —  Tail,  scarlet  ibis  and  yellow ;  body, 
silver  tinsel ;  legs,  black  hackle  wound  full  length 
of  body;  wings,  brown  turkey  with  jungle  cock 
shoulders. 

Ferguson.  —  Tail,  scarlet  ibis  and  yellow ;  body, 
yellow  silk  floss  ribbed  with  gold  tinsel;  legs, 
green  hackle;  wings,  brown  turkey,  scarlet  ibis, 
yellow,  and  peacock  swords. 


39  8  The  Trouts  of  America 

Round  Lake.  — -  Tail,  fibres  of  golden  pheasant 
tippet  and  two  fibres  of  blue  macaw ;  body,  lower 
half  orange,  upper  half  claret  mohair;  legs, 
orange  hackle ;  wings,  brown  turkey  matched 
feathers  with  jungle  cock  shoulders. 

Lord  Baltimore.  —  Tail,  black ;  body,  orange  silk 
floss  ribbed  with  black  silk;  legs,  black  hackle; 
wings,  black  with  jungle  cock  shoulders. 

Whitney.  —  Tail,  green ;  body,  green  silk  floss 
ribbed  with  silver;  legs,  green  hackle,  wound 
from  tail  to  shoulder  (sometimes  wound  at  shoul- 
der only),  under  wing,  yellow,  over  wing,  night 
heron;  head,  peacock  herl. 

Governor  Alvord.  —  Tail,  scarlet  ibis ;  body,  pea- 
cock herl ;  legs,  brown  hackle ;  wings,  blue  heron 
with  under  wing  of  brown  peacock. 

Tuxedo.  —  Tag,  red  silk  floss ;  tail,  bright  yellow; 
body,  silver  floss  ribbed  with  gold  twist;  legs, 
orange  hackle;  wings,  curlew,  with  narrow  strip 
of  bright  yellow  on  each  side. 

Silver  Miller.  —  Tail,  scarlet  ibis  and  yellow ; 
body,  silver  tinsel  ribbed  with  gold  twist;  legs, 
yellow  hackle;  wings,  matched  white  feathers. 

Pelee  Island  Ibis.  —  Tail,  black ;  tag,  black 
ostrich  herl ;  body,  red  silk  floss  ribbed  with 
gold;  wings,  matched  scarlet  ibis. 


Artificial  Flies  399 

Gogebic.  —  Tag,  scarlet  silk  floss ;  tail,  scarlet  ibis 
and  white ;  butt,  black  ostrich  herl ;  body,  yellow, 
ribbed  with  fine  gold  twist;  legs,  scarlet  hackle 
wound  from  butt  to  shoulder ;  wings,  white 
matched  feathers  with  small  ibis  on  each  side. 

White  Moth.  —  Tail,  scarlet  ibis  ;  body,  white 
chenille;  legs,  white  hackle;  wings,  matched 
white  feathers. 

I  have  now  given  a  description  of  about  all  the 
standard  flies  used  for  trout.  Of  course  there 
are  many  others,  some  used  only  in  certain  parts 
of  the  country,  and  others  designed  and  used  only 
by  private  parties  and  their  friends. 

Such  knowledge  as  I  possess  of  fly-tying  was 
derived  from  the  practical  teachings  of  Samuel 
P.  Kellogg  of  Elizabeth,  New  Jersey,  who  was 
undoubtedly  one  of  the  most  skilled  of  amateur 
or  professional  fly-tiers,  as  he  was  certainly  one 
of  the  best  informed  in  the  natural  history  of  our 
feathered  fauna.  He  is  now  deceased,  and  the 
cause  of  his  death  should  be  a  warning  to  all 
who  keep  a  stock  of  fly  materials.  He  died 
from  poison  produced  by  the  incautious  use  of 
arsenic. 


INDEX 


Abbey  fly,  dressing,  384. 


Adirondack  fly,  dressing,  392. 
Alaska  salmon  — 

Annual  yield  of  salmon,  175- 

Blueback  salmon  range,  161. 

Exhaustion  and  death  of  salmon 
in  brooks,  169. 

Humpback  salmon   range,   163, 
169. 

Quinnat  range,  155,  156. 

Silver  salmon,  164. 
Alder  fly,  dressing,  387. 
Aleutian  Islands  salmon,  157. 
Alford,  salmon  fishing,  26,  121-122. 
American    braided    line,    inferiority 

of,  57- 

American  split  bamboo  rod,  salmon 
fishing,  78. 

Angling,  antiquity  and  literature  of, 

4,  193-196. 
[See  also  names  offish^\ 

Arctic  trout   \_Salvelinus   arcturus~\ 
285,  286,  295,  323. 

Armstead,  J.  J.,  trout  fishing,  bee- 
sting  incident,  275. 

Artificial   flies,  tying  and  dressing, 

368-399. 
[See  also  tide  Flies,  and  names 
ofjlies,~] 

Ashy  fly,  dressing,  392. 

Asia,  trout  origin,  198. 

Atkins,  Mr.,  salmon  spawning  experi- 
ments, 31. 

Atlantic  rivers,  acclimatizing  Pacific 
salmon,  173. 
2D  4OI 


Atlantic  salmon  — 


Differences  from  Pacific  species, 

I53-IS4. 
Distinguishing  small  salmon  from 

grilse,  12. 

Extermination   and  decrease  in 
various  rivers,  37-46;  pre- 
ventive methods,  40-41. 
Fishing,  see  Atlantic  salmon  fish- 
ing. 
Food,  32,  35-36. 

Fresh  water,  decrease  of  ap- 
petite in,  21-24,  27. 
Fry,  see  that  title. 
Grilse,  see  that  title. 
History  and  habits,  3-36. 
"Kippers,"  124. 
Migration,  27-29,  145. 

Fresh  water,  habits  as  to  as- 
cent of  rivers,  19-21. 
Return  to  native  rivers,  29-31. 
Numbers  in  proportion  to  grilse, 

14-18. 

Parr,  see  that  title. 
Pennell's  "  Proved  Facts,"  5-7. 
Size,  see  subheading  Weight  and 

size. 

Smolts,  see  that  title. 
Spawning,  27. 

Extracts  from  Pennell,  5-7. 
Penobscot  salmon,  31. 
Vacillating  characteristics,  3-4. 
Weight  and  size,  32-35. 

Diminution  in  size  indicating 
deterioration  of  river,  46. 


402 


Index 


Atlantic  salmon  [continued]  — 
Weight  and  size  [continued]  — 
Table   estimating  weight   by 

length,  33-34. 
Young,    see     Parr,    Grilse,    and 

Smolts. 

Atlantic  salmon  fishing  — 
Bait,  see  that  title. 
Canadian  rivers,  see  that  title. 
Casting  the  fly,  see  that  title. 
Fishing  the  pool,  99-113. 
Flies,  see  that  title. 
Hours  for,  4,  130-134. 
Illegal    fishing,    enforcement   of 

laws,  39-42. 

Intuition  of  danger,  144-145. 
Large  salmon,  encounters  with, 

122-127. 

Logs,  angling  among,  145-147. 
Mist  on  the  water,  134. 
Netting,  28,  29. 
Rising  fish,  136-143. 
Season  for  angling  in  Canadian 

rivers,  145. 

Sleep  of  salmon,  135—136. 
Sport  of  angling,  127-129,  148. 
Striking,   playing,   and   landing, 

114-129. 
Gaffing,  1 20. 
Length  of  time  required, 

anecdotes,  122-124. 
Tackle,  see  names  of  tackle,  Lines, 

Rods,  etc. 

Thunder-storms,  134. 
Water,  best  stages  for  fishing,  144. 
Wounded  fish  taking  the  fly,  23- 

24,  142. 

[See  also  names  of  rivers."] 
Attacus     cecropia,     gut     produced 

from,  6l. 

Baird,     salmon     hatching     station, 
171. 


Bait  — 

Atlantic  salmon  fishing,  4,  143. 
Salmon  rising  to  any  object 

alleged,  24-26. 
Varying  bait  to   suit    humor 

of  fish,  4. 
Pacific  salmon  fishing,  180,  181, 

182. 

Steelhead  angling,  188-189. 
Trout,  bait  fishing,  331,  355, 360- 

362,  366. 
"  Baiting  a  buoy,"  method  of  lake 

trout  angling,  292. 
Battle  Creek,  salmon  fishing,  184. 
Bean,   Professor    T.    H.,  name   for 

Sunapee  trout,  324. 
Beardslee,  Admiral  L.  A.  —  salmon- 
trout  species,  246. 
Beaufort  Moth  fly,   salmon  fishing, 

83,89. 

Beaverkill  fly,  dressing,  387. 
Bee,  artificial,  dressing,  389. 
Belle  Isle,  Strait  of,  salmon  fishing  in 

rivers  north  of,  52. 
Bemis  Stream  fly,  dressing,  394. 
Bendire,  Captain,  discovery  of  Waha 

Lake  trout,  228. 

Berners,  Juliana,  Prioress  of  Sop- 
well,  book  on  fishing,  1 94- 
195. 

Black  Ant,  dressing,  390. 
Black  bass  — 

Introduction  into  eastern  waters, 

251. 

Intuition  of  danger,  310. 
Salt-water  habitat,  284. 
Black  Gnat,  dressing,  389. 
Black  Midge  fly,  dressing,  389. 
Black  Prince  fly,  dressing,  395. 
Black-spotted  trout,  see  Cut-throat. 
Blueback     salmon     [  Oncorhynchus 

nerka~\  161-162. 
Characteristics,  161. 


Index 


403 


Blueback  salmon  [continued]  — 

Names  of,  161. 

Size  and  weight,  162. 

Value  as  food,  canning,  etc.,  175. 
Blueback  trout,  see  Oquassa  trout. 
Blueback    trout   of  Lake    Crescent 
\_Salmo  gairdneri  beards- 
leei]  211. 

Characteristics,  246-248. 
Blue  Bottle,  artificial,  dressing,  388. 
Blue  Jay  fly,  dressing,  395. 
Blue  Professor  fly,  dressing,  390. 
Bob  BarnwelPs  Ashy   fly,  dressing, 

393- 
"  Booke  of  St.  Albans,"  first  book  on 

fishing,  194. 

Britannia  fly,  salmon  fishing,  89. 
British   Columbia,    annual  yield  of 

salmon,   175. 

Brook  Pool,  salmon  fishing,  109. 
Brook    trout    of    western    Oregon 

\_Salmo   irideus  masoni] 

211. 

Characteristics,  255-256. 
Brook  or  red-spotted  trout  [Salve- 

linus  fontinalis]  286. 
Angling,  306. 

Antagonism  to  grayling,  216. 
Colorado  rivers,  introduction  of 

trout  into,  227. 

Coloration,  201-202,  303-305. 
Preservation    of    color    after 

capture,  305-306. 
Description,  302-303. 
Distinction    from    brown    trout, 

273.  277. 

Favorite  fish  of  anglers,  297-298. 
Food,  300-302. 

Habits  and  range,  197,  298-300. 
Hearing  —  concussion,  311-313. 
Intuition  of  danger,  310. 
Muscular  powers,  298,  300. 
Sight,  304,  307-310. 


Brook  trout  {continued]  — 
Smell,  3 1 3-3 14. 
Taste,  309,  313. 
Touch,  314. 
Brookes,    R.,   treatise    on    angling, 

1740,  4. 

Brown,  N.,  salmon  angling,  123. 
Brown  Fairy  fly,  salmon  fishing,  85, 

88. 
Brown  Hackle  or  Palmer  fly,  making, 

378-382,  383. 

Brown  Hen  fly,  dressing,  386. 
Brown  trout,  see  German  or  brown 

trout. 

Bull  trout,  see  Dolly  Varden  trout. 
Butcher  fly,  salmon  fishing,  88,  89, 

142. 

Caddis  fly,  dressing,  387. 
Cahill  fly,  dressing,  385. 
California  rivers  — 

Salmon  culture,  171. 
Steelhead  angling,  187. 
Canadian  rivers  — 

Fresh  salmon  visitation  in  autumn, 

9-10. 

Salmon  fishing,  42-52. 
Season  for  angling,  145. 
[See  also  names  of  rivers.] 
Carp  imported  from  Germany,  251. 
Cascapedia    River,   salmon    fishing, 

124. 
Casting  the  fly  — 

Atlantic  salmon  fishing,  91-98. 
Bank,  casting  from,  93,  95. 
Boat,  casting  from,  92,  93,  95. 
Overhand  casts,  91. 
Underhand  casts,  96-97. 
Wading,  95,  96. 
Lines,  see  Casting  lines. 
Tournaments,  354,  355,  357. 
Trout  fishing,  339. 

Grasshopper  cast,  340-342. 


404 


Index 


Casting  the  fly  [continued']  — 
Trout  fishing  [continued]  — 
Learning  to  cast  a  fly,  354- 

358. 

Switch  or  Spey  cast,  357. 
Casting  lines  or  leaders  — 
Atlantic  salmon  fishing  — 
Care  of  line,  66. 
Durability  of  line,  66-67. 
Length  of  gut,  61. 
Procuring  gut,  60. 
Silk  whipping,  avoiding,  62. 
Tying  —  directions  for  mak- 
ing knots,  62-66,  72. 
Trout  leaders,  selection  of,  365. 
Causapscal  fly,  salmon  fishing,  83. 
Chain  of  Rocks,  salmon  fishing,  25, 

27,  143- 

Chaleurs  Bay,  rivers  of — 
Salmon  migration,  20. 
Salmon  netting,  28. 
Charr-trout  — 

Classification,  205,  285-286. 
Distinguishing  from  brown  trout, 

273.  277. 

Dolly  Varden,  see  that  title. 
European  charr,  see  that  title. 
Great  Lake  trout,  see  that  title. 
Habits,  283. 

Hearing  —  concussion,  311-313. 
Identifying,  206-207,  273,  277, 

285. 

Intuition  of  danger,  310. 
Jordan  River,  variety  found  in, 

196. 

Markings,  284-285. 
Migration,  283-284. 
Sight,  306-310. 
Sleep,  314. 
Smell,  313-314- 
Spawning    habit    of  fontinalis, 

296-297. 
Species,  285-286,  294-296. 


Charr-trout  [continued]  — 
Species  [continued]  — 

Cristivotner  genus,  285,  294. 
Imported  species,  286. 
Salvelimts  genus,  286,  294- 

296. 

[See  also  names  of  species.~\ 
Taste,  309,  313. 
"Tickling  a  trout,"  314. 
Touch,  314. 

Chateaugay  fly,  dressing,  394. 
Chesapeake     Bay    pike,    salt-water 

habitat,  284. 

China,  quinnat  range,  155. 
Chinook  salmon  — 
Canning,  175. 
Trolling,  187. 

Cholmondeley  Pennell,  see  Pennell. 
Cinnamon  fly,  dressing,  391. 
Clackamas  River,  salmon  hatchery, 

172. 

Claret  Gnat,  dressing,  389. 
Clarkii,    cut-throat    trout    species, 

210,  220. 

Classification  of  fish  — 
Basis  of,  265. 
Coloration,  202-204,  324. 
Habits  of  fish  as  factor,  326. 
Trout,  see  that  title. 
[See  also  names  of  various  fish.~\ 
Coachman  and  Royal  Coachman  flies, 

dressing,  382-383,  388. 
Coast  Range  trout  [Salnio  irideus] 

211. 

Characteristics,  253-254. 
Range,  255. 

Coch-y-bon-dhu  fly,  dressing,  384. 
"  Cocking  a  fly,"  348-349. 
Colorado  River  trout  \_Salmo  clarkii 

pleuriticus~\  2U. 
Angling,  225,  228. 
Description,  225. 
Food,  228. 


Index 


405 


Colorado  River  trout  [continued]  — 
Similarity  to  Rio  Grande  trout, 

223,  225. 

Size  and  weight,  227. 
Spawning,  228. 
Colorado  rivers,  adaptability  for  fish 

life,  226-227. 

Coloration  of  fish,  difficulty  of  classi- 
fication, 200-204,  324. 
Columbia  River  — 

Centre  of  salmon  fishery,  175. 
Quinnat  range,  155,  156,  158. 
Salmo  clarkii  gibbsii  range, 

222. 

Silver  salmon,  164. 
Steelhead  classification,  241. 
Columbia  River  trout  [Salmo  clarkii'} 

2IO. 

Description  of,  214. 
Range,  213. 
Connecticut    River    salmon,    illegal 

netting,  38. 

Conroy  fly,  dressing,  396. 
Cotton,  C.,  see  Walton  and  Cotton. 
Couch,  J.,  salmon  angling,  122. 
Cowdung  fly,  dressing,  388. 
Cox,  N.,  salmon  fishing,  bait,  etc.,  4. 
Crescent  Lake,  see  Lake  Crescent. 
Cristivomer  namaycush,  Great  Lake 

trout,  285,  286. 
Cristivomer  namaycush  siscowet,  Sis- 

cowet  trout,  285,  293. 
Cunard,  Sir  B.,  salmon  fishing  on  the 

Grimersta,  49. 

Cupsuptuc  fly,  dressing,  396. 
Cut-throat    or    black-spotted    trout 
[Salmo  clarkii]  210,  220. 
Angling,  217-218. 
Coloration,  200,  201. 
Columbia   River   trout,  see   that 

title. 

Differences    from    rainbow    and 
steelhead,  201. 


Cut-throat  trout  {continued ]  — 
Food,  217. 
Geysers,  trout  living  in  hot  water, 

219-220. 
Habits,  215. 
Spawning,  218. 
Varieties,  210-211. 
[See  also  names  oj 'varieties."] 

Dark  Argus  fly,  dressing,  395. 
Dark  Claret  fly,  dressing,  390. 
Dark  Fox  fly,  dressing,  389. 
Dark  Montreal  fly,  dressing,  385. 
Dawson,  king  salmon  fishing,  156. 
Deacon  fly,  dressing,  395. 
Dee,  salmon  fishing,  128,  135,  136. 
Deveron  River,  salmon  fishing,  30, 

31- 

Dog  salmon   [Oncorhynchus    keta] 

165,  169. 
Dolly     Varden     trout     [Salvelinus 

parkei]  286,  295. 
Characteristics,  3 1 7-3 1 9. 
Distinguishing  from  Eastern 

trout,  318,  320. 
Fishing,  319. 
Names  of,  286,  317,  318. 
Native  of  Pacific  slope,  198,  205. 
Salt-water  migration,  320. 
Doodle  Bug,  dressing,  396. 
Dry  and  wet  fly  fishing,  349-350. 
Dublin  Pond  trout  [Salvelinus  fon- 
tinalis  agassizii]  286,  295. 
Characteristics,  316-317. 
Dun  Wing  fly,  salmon  fishing,  109. 
Durham  Ranger  fly,  salmon  fishing, 

85,  88,  89,  104,  no. 
Dusty  Miller  fly  — 
Dressing,  385. 
Salmon  fishing,  109,  no. 

Eastern  charr  [Salvelinus  fontinalis] 
320. 


406 


Index 


Eastern  charr  [continued}  — 
Angling,  320- 
Distinction  from  Dolly  Varden, 

318,  320. 
Eastern  continent,  trout  species,  198- 

199. 
Eel  river  — 

Salmon  trolling,  183. 
Steelhead  angling,  187,  189. 
Elk  Creek  trout,  200,  202. 
Elk  River,  cut-throat  range,  213. 
Epting  fly,  dressing,  391. 
Esquimaux  River,  salmon  fishing,  51. 
European  charr  or  saibling  [Salve- 

linus  alpinus]  286. 
Angling,  323. 
Characteristics,  322-323. 
Species,  322. 

[See    also    names,    Long-finned, 
Greenland,     Arctic,     and 
Sunapee.] 
European  sea-trout  [Salmo  trutta] 

212. 

Distinction  from  native  sea-trout, 

281. 

Names,  habits,  etc.,  281-282. 
Evermann,  see  Jordan  and  Evermann. 

Fairfax,  T.,  hours  for  angling,  130. 
Fairies,  flies  for  salmon  fishing,  85, 

88. 

Feathers  for  fly-making,  370. 
Ferguson  fly,  dressing,  397. 
Firefly,  dressing,  397. 
Fishing,  see  names  of  fish. 
Fishing  the  pool  —  salmon  fishing, 

99-"3- 

Flat  Rock  Pool,  salmon  fishing,  136. 
Flies  — 

Atlantic  salmon  fishing,  79-90. 
Anglers'  theories,  79-80,  106. 
Attaching  fly  to  leader,  64- 
66,  72. 


Hies  [continued}  — 

Atlantic  salmon  fishing  [cont.}  — 
Casting  the  fly,  see  that  title. 
Change  of  mind  in  salmon  as 

to  flies,  82,  106-113. 
Color  of  flies,  85-88. 
Size  of  flies,  81-85. 
Statement  of  flies  used  in  fish- 
ing, 1896,  109-110. 
Varying    conditions,    use    of 

different  flies,  88. 
Below  and  above  water,  aspect 

of  flies,  308. 

Casting  the  fly,  see  that  title. 
Macedonian  "  hippurus,"  194. 
Trout     fishing,    330-332,    345- 

353- 
Brown  trout  fishing  in  Great 

Britain,  276-277. 
"Cocking  a  fly,"  348-349. 
Colorado  River  trout,  228. 
Cut-throat  trout  angling,  217- 

218. 

Dolly  Varden  trout,  319. 
Dry  and  wet  fly  fishing,  349. 
Great    Lake    trout    angling, 

289. 

Lake  fishing,  flies  for,  353. 
List  of  flies  in  use,  383-399. 
Night  fishing,  350-352. 
Norris,  T.,  extract  from  writ- 
ings, 347-348. 
Tying  and  dressing  flies,  368- 

399- 
Types  of  flies  to  use,  346-347, 

352-353,  366. 
Webber  Lake  trout,  236. 
[See  also  names  offlies^ 
Floeberg  charr  [Salvelinus  alpinus 

arcturus}  285,  286,  323. 
Fontinalis,   red-spotted  charr-trout, 

197. 
[See  Brook  or  red-spotted  trout.] 


Index 


407 


Forrest  rod,  salmon  fishing,  77,  78. 
Francis  fly,  dressing,  393. 
Fraser  River  — 

Blueback  salmon  range,  161. 

Centre  of  salmon  fishery,  1 75. 
Fry,  Atlantic  salmon  — 

Extracts  from  Pennell,  5-6. 

Habits  and  characteristics,  6. 

[See  also  Parr,  Smolts,  and  Grilse.] 

Gaffing  salmon,  120. 

Gallatin  River,  trout  coloration,  200. 

Galway,  salmon  fishing,  128,  129. 

Gardner  River,  trout,  220. 

Geneva  Lake,  Swiss  lake  trout,  286. 

German    or    brown    trout     [Salmo 

fario}  212. 
Angling  in  America  and  Great 

Britain,  274-278. 
Bee  sting  incident,  275. 
Characteristics,  254,  271,  277. 
Distinguishing  from  red-spotted 

charr,  273,  277. 
Distribution,  272. 
Food,  destruction  of  other  fish, 

272. 

Size,  251,  272,  274. 
Spawning,  277-278. 

Crossing  experiments,  278. 
Geysers,  trout  living  in  hot  water, 

219-220. 
Gilbert,  Dr.  — 

Golden  trout  habitat,  270. 
Steelhead  forms,  241. 
Steelheads  and  cut-throats,  dis- 
tinction between,  256. 
Ginger  Palmer  fly,  dressing,  384. 
Godbout  River,  salmon  fishing,  ^8, 

49.  51- 

Gogebic  fly,  dressing,  399. 
Golden  Spinner  fly,  dressing,  388. 
Golden  trout  of  Mt.  Whitney  \_Salmo 

irideus  agua  bonita\  212. 


Golden  trout  of  Mt.  Whitney  [>«/.]— 
Coloration,  266-268. 
Confused   with    Sunapee    trout, 

267,  324. 
Range,  270. 
Season,  route   to   Mt.  Whitney 

waters,  270. 
Golden  trout  of  Sunapee  Lake,  see 

Sunapee  trout. 

Golet,  see  Dolly  Varden  trout. 
Governor  Alvord  fly,  dressing,  398. 
Grand  Cascapedia,   salmon  fishing, 

46-47. 
Grand  Haven,  Michigan,  names  for 

Great  Lake  trout,  287. 
Grand  Romaine,  salmon  fishing,  47. 
Grannom  fly,  dressing,  386. 
Grasshopper  cast,  trout  fishing,  340- 

342. 

Gray  Drake  fly,  dressing,  386. 
Gray  Palmer  fly,  dressing,  384. 
Grayling,  relations  to  trout  and 

whitefish,  216. 
Great  Britain,  trout  — 

Brown  trout  angling,  275-278. 
Dry  and  wet   fly   fishing,   349- 

35°- 

Nomenclature  of  trout,  271. 
Species  of  trout,  198. 
Great     Lake    trout     \Cristivomer 

namaycush~\  285. 
Angling,  289. 

"  Baiting   a   buoy "  method, 

292. 

Flies,  289. 
Trolling,  289,  291. 
Characteristics,  288-289. 
Markings,  285. 
Names  of,  208,  287-288. 
Range,  205. 

Siscowet  trout,  see  that  title. 
Great  Lakes,  attempt  to  acclimatize 
salmon,  173. 


408 


Index 


Greenback    trout     [Salmo    clarkii 

stomias\  21 1. 
Characteristics,  229. 
Jordan's  writings,  230. 
Green   Bay,   Wisconsin,   names   for 

Great  Lake  trout,  287. 
Green  Drake  fly,  dressing,  385. 
Greenland   charr    [Salvelinus  alpi- 
nus  stagnalii\   286,    295, 

323; 
Grilse,  Atlantic  salmon  — 

Distinguishing    from    small  sal- 
mon, 12. 

Female  development,  13. 

Migration,  18,  19. 

Numbers  in  proportion  to  salmon, 
14-18. 

Restigouche  River,  see  that  title. 

Return  from  salt  water,  7,  10,  n. 

Size  and  weight,  n,  13, 18, 19,  32. 

Spawning,  extracts  from  Pennell, 

5-7- 

[See  also  Atlantic  salmon.] 
Grimersta  River,  salmon  fishing,  49, 

I35»  '43- 

Grizzly  King  fly,  dressing,  384. 
Grizzly  Palmer  fly,  dressing,  384. 
Gulf  coast,  food  of  salmon,  36. 
Gunther,  variations  in  trout  species, 

199. 
Gut,  see  Casting  lines. 

Hackle  fly,  378-382,  383. 
Hackles  for  fly-making,  370. 
Hard-head  trout,  see  Steelhead. 
Hare's  Ear  fly,  dressing,  387. 
Herodotus,  ichthyic  research,  193. 
"  Hippurus,"  Macedonian  fly,  194. 
Hooks  — 

Atlantic  salmon  fishing — 

Attaching  hook  to  leader,  64- 
66,  72. 

Pcnnell's  writings,  70. 


Hooks  [continued]  — 

Atlantic  salmon  fishing  [cont."\  — 
Qualities  necessary  in  perfect 

hook,  70. 

Sizes  of,  diagram,  73. 
Turn-down-eyed  hook,  71. 
Trout  fishing,  367. 
Hopatcong  fly,  dressing,  397. 
Hours  for  salmon  fishing,  4, 130-134. 
Hudson  River,  salmon  introduction 
and  illegal  fishing,  38-41. 
Humpback   salmon    [  Oncorhynchus 

gorbuscha\  162-164. 
Characteristics,  162-163. 
Exhaustion  and  death  in  brooks 

of  Alaska,  169. 
Range,  163. 
Spawning,  163. 
Huxley,  Professor,  salmon  food,  32. 

Ice  fishing  —  trout  fishing  method, 

330. 
Idaho,   Salmo   clarkii  gibbsii,   2IO, 

222. 

Indians  —  salmon  fishing,  9,  22. 

Reef-net  fishing,  176. 

Silver  salmon  trolling,  185. 

Spearing,  176. 

Inskeep,  H.,  fly  casting  methods,  355. 
Iron  Blue  Dun  fly,  dressing,  387. 

Japan,  silver  salmon  range,  164. 
Jenny  Lind  fly,  dressing,  390. 
Jenny  Spinner  fly,  dressing,  388. 
Jock  Scott  fly,  salmon  fishing,  84, 88, 

100,  102,  104,  105,  no. 
Jointed  rods,  salmon  fishing,  78. 
Jordan,  Dr. — 

Colorado  rivers,  adaptability  for 

fish  introduction,  226. 
Greenback  trout,  230. 
Jordan   River — charr-trout   variety 
found  in,  196. 


Index 


409 


Jordan  and  Evermann  — 

Brook  trout  of  western  Oregon, 

256. 

Trout  species,  208. 
Judge's   Pool,  angling  among  logs, 

146-147. 

June  Spinner  fly,  dressing,  396. 
Jungle  Cock  fly,  dressing,  391. 

Kadiak,  centre  of  salmon  fishery,  175. 
Kadoodle  Bug,  dressing,  396. 
Kamchatka,  somka  or  mykiss  trout, 

212,  243. 
Kamloops   trout   [Salmo  gairdneri 

kamloops\  2H. 
Characteristics,  244-246. 
Kellogg,  S.  P.,  fly-tying,  399. 
Kennebec  River  divested  of  fish  by 

dam  erection,  37. 
Kennedy,  Mr.,  salmon  fishing,  Grand 

Cascapedia,  47. 
Kern  River  country,  description  of, 

262. 
Kern   River  trout    [Sa/mo  irideus 

gilberti]  21 1,  261. 
Characteristics,  263. 
Golden  trout,  268-270. 
Species,  264. 

Sporting  qualities,  263-264. 
King  of   the   Waters  fly,  dressing, 

385. 

King  salmon,  see  Quinnat. 

"Kippers,"  definition  of,  124. 

Kowak  River,  abundance  of  hump- 
back and  dog  salmon,  163. 

Lac   de   Marbre   trout   [Salvelinus 
oquassa    marstont}     286, 

295- 
Characteristics  and  angling,  328, 

329- 

Lady  of  Merton  fly,  salmon  fishing, 
no,  in. 


Lake  Crescent  — 

Blueback  trout,  see  (hat  title. 
Long-headed  trout,  212,  239. 
Speckled  trout,  211,  248. 
Lake  Geneva,  Swiss  lake  trout,  286. 
Lake  Oquassa,  blueback   trout  mi- 
gration, 327. 

Lake  Superior,  steelheads,  accli- 
matizing, 173. 

Lake  Sutherland  spotted  trout 
[Salmo  clarkii  jordana] 
211. 

Characteristics,   239. 
Lake     Sutherland     trout      [Salmo 
clarkii  declivifrons\  21 1. 
Characteristics,  238. 
Lake  Tahoe,   Truckee   or  "  pogy " 
trout  \_Salmo  clarkii  hen- 
shawi]  210. 
Characteristics,  234. 
Method  of  fishing,  234. 
Range,  236. 

Lake  Tahoe,  Truckee  or  silver  trout 
[Salmo  clarkii  tahoensis] 

210. 

Markings,  232-233. 

Method  of  fishing,  234. 

Range,  236. 

Lake  trout,  see  Great  Lake  trout. 
Lakes,  flies  for  trout  fishing,  353. 
Leaders,  see  Casting  lines. 
Light  Claret  fly,  dressing,  389. 
"  Light  Montreal "  fly,  making,  371- 

378,385- 

Lightning  Bug,  dressing,  397. 
Lines  — 

Atlantic  salmon  fishing  — 
American  braided  line,  57. 
Care  of  line,  58-60. 
Casting  lines,  see  that  title. 
Landing    salmon,   light    and 
heavy  lines  compared,  1 18. 
"Olinea,"58. 


4io 


Index 


Lines  [continued]  — 

Atlantic  salmon  fishing  [cont.~\ — 
Selection,  58. 
Tapered  line,  58. 
Casting  lines,  see  that  title. 
Trout  fishing,  365. 
Lob    worms  —  bait     for     Atlantic 

salmon,  4. 
Lock  Leven  trout  [Salmo  levenensis} 

212. 

Characteristics,  254,  279-281. 
Introduction    and    distribution, 

279,  280. 

Species,  doubt  as  to,  279. 
Locke,  J.,  salmon  fishing,  26,  90. 
Logs,  angling  among,  145-147. 
Long-fmned   charr   \_Salvelinus  al- 
pinus   alipes~\    286,    295, 

323- 

Long-headed  trout  of  Lake  Crescent 
[Salmo  bathcecetor\  212, 

239. 

Lord  Baltimore  fly,  dressing,  398. 

Lower  Snake  River,  steelhead  classi- 
fication, 241. 

Lowery  fly,  dressing,  391. 

Lucius  reticulatus,  Eastern  pond 
pickerel,  284. 

McBride's  Black  Gnat,  dressing,  389. 
McBride's  Professor  fly,  dressing,  390. 
McCloud  River  trout  [Salmo  irideus 

skasta"]  21 1. 
Coloration   and  structure,   259- 

261. 
Introduction    into    Eastern  and 

other  states,  257-259. 
Range  of,  259,  261. 
Sporting  qualities,  261. 
Macedonians,  angling,  194,  196. 
Magalloway  fly,  dressing,  393. 
Malma  trout,  see  Dolly  Varden  trout. 
March  Brown  fly,  dressing,  386. 


Marlow  Buzz  fly,  dressing,  384. 
Maxwell,  Sir  H.  — 

Indifference  of  fish  to  color,  86. 

Vertical  position  of  sulking  fish, 

126. 

Mechanicsville  dam,  39. 
Meek,  Professor,  trout  of  Lake  Suth- 
erland, 238. 
Metapedia  River,  salmon  fishing  — 

Dam  construction,  30. 

Haul  of  salmon  in  1886,  22. 

Size  of  grilse,  13. 
Mingan  River,  salmon  fishing,  49. 
Miramichi  River,  salmon  migration, 

20. 

Mitchell,  G.  E.,  description  of  blue- 
back  trout,  247. 

Moisie  River,  salmon  fishing,  49. 
Monterey  Bay  — 

Quinnat  range,  155. 

Salmon  fishing,  179,  183. 
Montreal  flies,  dressing,  385. 
Mooselookmaguntic  fly,  dressing, 

394- 

Mount  Clairy,  salmon  fishing,  30. 
Mount   Whitney  trout,   see  Golden 

trout. 

Mowat  pool,  salmon  fishing,  107. 
Mykiss  trout,  212,  244. 

Naresi    trout     \_Salvelinus    oquassa 

naresi]  286,  295. 
Characteristics,  328. 
Natashquan   River,  salmon  fishing, 

49- 
Nepisiguit  Gray  fly,  salmon  fishing, 

89,  108,  no. 
Nepisiguit  River  — 
Grilse,  weight  of,  13. 
Salmon  fishing,  115,  136. 
"Nests,"  salmon,  159. 
Nicholson  fly,  salmon  fishing,  88,  89, 
no. 


Index 


411 


Nissuee   or   no-shee   trout    [Salmo 

irideus  stonei\  212. 
Characteristics,  264. 
Classification,  265. 

Norris,  T.,  trout  fly  fishing,  347-348. 

No-shee  trout,  see  Nissuee  trout. 

Norton  sound,  quinnat  range,  155, 
156. 

Norway,  salmon  fishing,  127,  128. 

Nushagak     River,    quinnat    range, 
'55- 

Oak  fly,  dressing,  386. 
Olemancheeboo  River,  salmon  fish- 
ing, 50. 

"  Olinea  "  line,  salmon  fishing,  58. 
Ombre  chevalier,  286,  322. 
Oncorhynchus  genus,  Pacific  salmon, 

153- 

[See  Pacific  salmon.] 
Oncorhynchus  gorbuscha,  humpback 

salmon,  162. 

[See  Humpback  salmon.] 
Oncorhynchus  keta,  dog  salmon,  165, 

169. 
Oncorhynchus  kisutch,  silver  salmon, 

164. 

Oncorhynchus  nerka,  blueback  sal- 
mon, 161. 

[See  Blueback  salmon.] 
Oncorhynchus  tschawytscha,  quinnat 

salmon,  154. 
[See  Quinnat  salmon.] 
Ontonagon    River  —  coloration    of 

trout,  202. 

Oppian,  treatise  on  fishing,  193. 
Oquassa  trout  or   blueback  [Salve- 

linus  oquassa]  286,  295. 
Habits  and  characteristics,  326- 

328. 

Species,  286,  328. 
[Ste  also  names,  Naresi  and  Lac 
dc  Marbre.] 


Oquassac  fly,  dressing,  394. 
Oregon  — 

Brook  trout  of  western  Oregon, 

see  that  title. 

Salmon  culture,  171,  172. 
Oregon    charr,    see    Dolly    Varden 

trout. 

Orvis,  C.  F.,  gut  strand  in  possession 
of,  61. 

Pacific  salmon  [Oncorhynchus]  — 
Acclimatizing,  172-174. 
Blueback  salmon,  see  that  title. 
Canning,  175. 
Cultivation,  170-172. 
Differences  from  Atlantic  species, 

153-154. 

Dog  salmon,  165,  169. 

Economic  importance  of,  175. 

Feeding  in  fresh  water,  167-170. 

Fishing,  see  Pacific  salmon  fishing. 

Humpback  salmon,  see  that  title. 

Quinnat  salmon,  see  that  title. 

Silver  salmon,  164. 

Spawning,    exhausted   condition 
of  fish,  168-170. 

Steelhead,  see  that  title. 
Pacific  salmon  fishing,  177-187. 

Annual  yield,  175. 

Bait,  180,  181,  182. 

Centres  of  salmon  fishery,  175. 

Fly  fishing,  178. 

Indian  methods  of  taking  salmon, 
176. 

Sea  fishing,  179. 

Spoon,  177-181. 

Surface  trawl,  184. 

Tackle,  180-181. 

Trolling,  177-187. 
Pale  Blue  Dun  fly,  dressing,  387. 
Palmer  flies,  making,  378-382,  383, 

384. 
Parmachenee  Belle  fly,  dressing,  395. 


4I2 


Index 


Parrs,  Atlantic  salmon  — 

Changing  to  smolt  stage,  32. 

Migration  as  smolts,  see  Smolts. 

Spawning,  6. 

Pelee  Island  Ibis  fly,  dressing,  398. 
Pennell,  Cholmondeley  — 

Hooks  for  salmon  fishing,  70. 

"  Proved  Facts  in  the  History  of 
Salmon,"  5—7. 

Weight  of  marked  grilse,  32. 
Penobscot  salmon  — 

Decrease,  38. 

Spawning,  31. 
Pickerel    [Lucius    reticulatus~\    salt 

water  habitat,  284. 
Pike  of  Chesapeake  Bay,  salt  water 

habitat,  284. 

"  Pogy  "  trout,  see  Lake  Tahoe  trout. 
Popham  fly,  salmon  fishing,  88. 
Professor  fly,  dressing,  384. 
Prouty  fly,  dressing,  396. 
Puget  Sound  — 

Blueback  salmon  range,  161. 

Centre  of  salmon  fishery,  175. 

Cut -throat  trout  range,  213. 

Humpback  salmon  range,  163. 

Silver  salmon,  164. 

Steelhead,  markings,  242. 

Trolling  for  salmon,  186. 

Queen  of  the  Waters  fly,  dressing,  385. 
Quinnat  salmon  [  Oncorhynchus 
tscha-wytschd\  154-161. 

Angling,  186. 

Characteristics,    154-155,     157- 

158- 

Eggs,  1 60. 
Migration,  157-158. 
Names,  154,  156. 
"Nests,"  159. 
Range  of,  155. 
Sexual  differences,  158. 
Size  and  weight,  156. 


Quinnat  salmon  [continued]  — 
Spawning,  158-160. 
Transplanted  to  France,  etc.,  174. 

Rainbow  trout  — 

Coast  Range  trout,  see  that  title. 
Colorado,  introduction  of  trout, 

227. 
Difference  from  cut-throat   and 

steelhead,  201,  252-253. 
Hardiness,  252. 
Sporting  qualities,  249-251. 
Varieties,  211,  249. 
[See  also  names  of  •varieties.] 
Rangeley  fly,  dressing,  395. 
Rangeley  Lakes,  habitat  of  Oquassa 

trout,  327. 
Rattlesnakes,  Kern  River  Country, 

262. 

Raven  fly,  dressing,  390. 
Red  Fox  fly,  dressing,  387. 
Red  Spinner  fly,  dressing,  388. 
Red-spotted  trout,  see  Brook  trout. 
Reef-net  fishing,  Indian  method  of 

taking  salmon,  1 76. 
Reels  — 

Atlantic  salmon  fishing — 

Improvement  iji  manufacture 

of,  67. 
Multiplying  and   click  reels, 

68. 

Width  of,  68-69. 
Trout  fishing,  366. 
Restigouche  River,  salmon,  29,  124. 
Grilse  — 

Female,  lack  of,  13-14. 
Weight  and  size,  13. 
Migration  of  smolts,  9,  II. 
Number  and  percentage  of  sal- 
mon and  grilse  taken  by 
club,  1881-1900,  16-17. 
Protection   and    lease    of   river, 
43-44- 


Index 


413 


Rio   Grande  trout   [Salmo    clarkii 

spilurus]  210,  222. 
Abundance  of,  222. 
Characteristics,  223-224. 
Similarity     to     Colorado    River 

trout,  223,  225. 
Rods  — 

Atlantic  salmon  fishing  — 

American  split  bamboo  rod, 

78. 

Forrest  rod,  77,  78. 
Jointed  and  spliced  rods,  78. 
Selection,  73-79. 
Weight  and  length,  74-77. 
Trout  fishing,  366. 
Round  Lake  fly,  dressing,  398. 
Royal   chinook    salmon,   name    for 

quinnat,  156. 
Royal  Coachman  fly,  making,  382- 

383.  388. 
Rube  Wood  fly,  dressing,  385. 

Sacramento  River,  Nissuee  trout,  264. 
Salmon  fishing  — 

Indian  methods,  176. 

Quinnat  range,  155,  156. 

Surface  trawl,  184. 
Saibling,  see  European  charr. 
St.  Anne  de  Monts   River,  salmon 

fishing,  48. 

St  Croix  River,  salmon  decrease,  38. 
St.  John  River,  salmon  fishing,  50, 51. 
St.  Lawrence  River,  salmon  fishing, 

42,  173. 

Salmo,  trout,  206. 

[See  Trout] 
Salmo  bathcccetor,  long-headed  trout, 

212,  239. 

Salmo  clarkii,  cut-throat  trout,  zoo, 
210.  [See  Cut -throat 
trout.] 

Salmo  clarkii  bouvieri,  Waha  Lake 
trout,  211,  228. 


Salmo    clarkii    declivifrons,     Lake 
Sutherland  trout,  2 1 1,  238. 
Salmo  clarkii  gibbsii,  210,  222. 

Range,  222. 
Salmo  clarkii  henshawi,  Lake  Tahoe 

trout,  210,  234. 
Salmo  clarkii  j or dana,  spotted  Lake 

Sutherland  trout,  211,  239. 
Salmo    clarkii   lewisi,   Yellowstone 

trout,  210,  221. 

Salmo  clarkii   macdonaldi,  yellow- 
fin  trout,  211,  230. 
Salmo  clarkii  pleuriticus,  Colorado 

River  trout,  211,  226. 
Salmo  clarkii  spilurus,  Rio  Grande 

trout,  210,  222. 
Salmo    clarkii    stomias,    greenback 

trout,  211,  229. 
Salmo  clarkii  tahoensis,  silver  trout 

of  Lake  Tahoe,  210,  232. 
Salmo   clarkii  mrginalis,   trout    of 

Lake  Utah,  210,  237. 
Salmo  fario,  brown  or  German  trout, 

212,  271. 

Salmo  gairdneri,  typical  steelhead, 

165,  211,  240. 

Salmo   gairdneri    beardsleei,    blue- 
back  trout,  211,246. 
Salmo  gairdneri  crescentis,  speckled 

trout   of   Lake   Crescent, 

211,  248. 
Salmo    gairdneri    kamloops,    kam- 

loops  trout,  211,  244. 
Salmo  irideus,  rainbow  trout,  211- 

253. 
Salmo  irideus  agua  bonita,  golden 

trout,  212,  266. 
Salmo  irideus  gilberti,  Kern  River 

trout,  211,  261. 
Salmo  irideus  masoni,  brook  trout, 

211,  255. 
Salmo  irideus  shasta,  McCloud  River 

trout,  211,  256. 


Index 


Saltno  irideus  stonei,  Nissuee  trout, 

212,  264. 
Salmo  levenensis,  Lock  Leven  trout, 

212,  279. 

Salmo  mykiss,  cut-throat  trout,  212. 
Salmo    salar,    Atlantic    salmon,    3, 

IS3-I54. 

[See  Atlantic  Salmon.] 
Salmo   trulta,  sea-trout   of  Europe 

and  Asia,  209,  212,  281. 
Salmon,    see   Atlantic    salmon,  and 

Pacific  salmon. 
Salmon  fishing  — 

Atlantic  salmon  fishing,  see  that 

title. 
Canada   and   Norway  compared 

with  Scotland,  127-129. 
Pacific   salmon   fishing,   see  that 

title. 

Tackle,  see  Rods,  Lines,  etc. 
United  Kingdom,  value  of  fish- 
eries, 42. 
Salmon-trout  — 

Black-spotted,  see  Cut-throat. 
Classification,  205,  210,  266. 
Cut-throat,  see  that  title. 
Foreign  species,  212,  271-282. 
\_See  also  German,  Loch  Leven, 
and  European  sea-trout.] 
Identifying,  206-207. 
Rainbow  trout,  see  that  title. 
Steelhead,  see  that  title. 
Technical   and    popular    names, 

210-212. 

Use  of  phrase  "  salmon  trout,"  208. 
Salvelinus,  charr-trout,  205. 

\_See  charr-trout.] 
Salvelinus  alpinus,  European  charr, 

286,  322. 

Salvelinus    alpinus     alipes,     long- 
finned  charr,  286,  295,  323. 
Salvelinus  alpinus  arcturus,  Arctic 
trout,  285,  286,  295,  323. 


Salvelinus   alpinus   aureolus,   Sun- 
apee  trout,  286,  324. 

Salvelinus  alpinus  stagnalis,  Green- 
land charr,  286,  295,  323. 

Salvelinus  fontinalis,  brook   trout, 

286,  297. 
[See  Brook  trout.] 

Salvelinus  fontinalis  agassizii,  Dub- 
lin Pond  trout,  286,  316. 

Salvelinus    lemanus,    Swiss     Lake 
trout,  286. 

Salvelinus   oquassa,  Oquassa  trout, 
286,  326. 

Salvelinus   oquassa    marstoni,   Lac 
de  Marbre  trout,  286,  328. 

Salvelinus    oquassa    naresi,   Naresi 
trout,  286,  328. 

Salvelinus    parkei,    Dolly    Varden 
trout,  286,  317. 

Saranac  fly,  dressing,  397. 

Scandinavian  Peninsula,  species  of 
salmonoids,  199. 

Scarlet  Ibis,  dressing,  390. 

Schuylkill  River,  hearing  and  smell- 
ing  senses    of    fish,    312, 

313-314. 

Sea-trout,  see  European  sea-trout. 
Seals  living  without  food,  168-169. 
Seth  Green  fly,  dressing,  386. 
Shasta  rainbow,  see  McCloud  River 

trout. 

Shoemaker  fly,  dressing,  386. 
Sierra     Nevada     waters,     McCloud 

River  trout  range,  261. 
Silkworm,  procuring  gut  from,  60. 
Silver  Doctor  fly  — 
Making,  392. 
Salmon  fishing,  85,  88,  loo,  104, 

106,  107,  no,  142. 
Silver  Miller  fly,  dressing,  398. 
Silver    salmon    [Oncorhynchus    ki- 

sutch~\  164. 
Trolling  for,  185. 


Index 


415 


Silver  trout,  see  Lake  Tahoe  trout. 
Siscowet  trout  \_Cristivomer  namay- 

cush  siscowet]  285. 
Deep-water  haunts,  293-294. 
Sleep  of  fish  — 

Atlantic  salmon,  135-136. 
Charr-trout,  314. 
Smolts,  Atlantic  salmon  — 

Changing  from  parr  stage,  32. 
Extracts  from  Pennell,  6-7. 
Growth,  rapidity  of,  10. 
Migration    to    salt    water    and 

return,  6-1 1,  18,  19. 
Return  from  salt  water  as  grilse, 

set  Grilse. 

Snakes,  Kern  River  country,  262. 
Somka  trout  of  Kamchatka,  212, 243. 
Sopwell,  Prioress  of,  book  on  fishing, 

194-195. 
South      Platte     River,     greenback 

trout,  229. 

Spawning,  see  names  offish. 
Spearing  salmon,  Indian  method,  1 76. 
"  Speckled      fishes,"      Macedonian 

angling,  194,  196. 

Speckled   trout   of   Lake    Crescent 
\_Salmo gairdmri  crescentis~\  21 I, 

248. 

Spey,  salmon  fishing,  128. 
Spey  cast,  96-97,  357. 
Spider  fly,  dressing,  387. 
Spliced  rods,  salmon  fishing,  78. 
Spokane  River,  cut-throat  trout  fish- 
ing, 214,  215. 
Spoon  — 

Atlantic  salmon  taken  at  Chain 

of  Rocks,  143. 

Pacific  salmon  fishing,  177-181. 
Steelhead  fishing,  188,  189. 
"Sporting  Fish  of  Great   Britain," 

extracts,  5-7. 

Spotted  trout,  see  Lake  Sutherland 
spotted  trout. 


Stanley,  H.  O.,   hardiness  of  blue- 
back  trout,  327. 
Steelhead,   hardhead   trout    [Salmo 

gairdnert]  211,  240. 
Characteristics,    165-167,     241- 

242. 
Classification,  211,  241. 

Belonging  to    trout   species, 

165,  190. 

Differences  from  cut-throat  and 
rainbow  species,  201,  241, 
252-253. 
Fishing,  187-190. 
Great   Lakes,   acclimatizing  sal- 
mon, 173. 
Names,  243-244. 
Range,  242. 
Sporting  qualities,  243. 
Value  as  food,  175-176. 
Varieties,  211,  240. 
[See  also  names  of  varieties.'} 
Stit-tse  trout  [Satmo gairdneri  kam- 

loops}  211. 

Stone,  L.,salmon  hatching,  1873, 171. 
Stone  fly,  dressing,  386. 
Stormontfield  on  the  Tay  — 
Grilse,  weight  of,  32. 
Smolt  migration,  8. 
Striking  salmon,  114-120. 
Sturdy,  E.,  table  estimating  weight 
of  salmon  by  length,  33- 

34- 

Sucker  River,  salmon  fishing,  174. 
Sunapee  trout   \_Salvelinus  alpinus 

aureo/us]  286,  295. 
Angling,  323. 
Characteristics,  325. 
Coloration,  325. 
Confused  with  Mount  Whitney 

golden  trout,  267,  324. 
Range,  325. 

Sutherland,  Lake,  see  Lake  Suther- 
land. 


416 


Index 


Swiss   lake   trout  of  Lake  Geneva 
\Salvelinus  lemanus~\  286. 
Switch  or  Spey  cast,  357. 

Tackle  — 

Atlantic  salmon  fishing,  53-90. 
Examination  of  tackle,  53-54,  73, 

121. 

Pacific  salmon  fishing,  180-181. 
Trout  fishing,  see  that  title. 
[See  also  Lines,  Rods,  etc.] 
Tahoe,  see  Lake  Tahoe. 
Teeth,  distinction  between  salmon- 
trout      and     charr-trout, 
206. 
Thunder  Bay,  name  for  Great  Lake 

trout,  287. 
Thunder-storms  — 

Atlantic  salmon  fishing,  134. 
Trout  fishing,  334. 
"Tickling  a  trout,"  314. 
Tideway  River,  salmon  fishing  de- 
terioration, 44. 

Tinselled  Ibis  fly,  dressing,  394. 
"Tippets,"    attaching    fly    to,    64, 

72. 

Togue,  see  Great  Lake  trout. 
Tools  for  fly-tying,  369. 
Traherne,  Major  — 
Flies,  changing,  88. 
Hours  for  angling,  133. 
Rods  for  salmon  fishing,  76-77. 
Undercasts  on  the  Spey,  96. 
Traverse  Bay,  Michigan,  names  for 

Great  Lake  trout,  287. 
Trawl,     surface,      salmon     fishing, 

184. 
Trolling  — 

Salmon,  177-187. 
Trout  fishing,  330. 

Great  Lake  trout,  289,  291. 
Trout  [Salmo]  — 

Charr-trout,  see  that  title. 


Trout  [continued"]  — 

Classification  of  species,  189-209. 
Based    on    anatomical    dif- 
ferences, 204-208. 
Teeth  and  scales,  207,  208. 
Coloration,  200-204. 
Effect  of  properties  of  water, 

202. 

Differences  in  size  and  pro- 
portions, 204. 

[See  Charr-trout  and  Salmon- 
trout.] 

Distribution,  196-198. 
Fishing,  see  Trout  fishing. 
Great  Britain,  see  that  title. 
Native  and    foreign   species   in 
American     waters,     197, 
198,  205,  206. 
Salmon-trout,  see  that  title. 
Salt-water  migrators,  320-321. 
Steelhead,  see  that  title. 
Use     of    terms     "  trout "     and 
"salmon  trout,"  205-206, 
208. 

[See  also  names  of  'species .] 
Trout  fishing  — 

Atmospheric  conditions,  333-337. 
Bait  fishing,  331,  355,  360-362, 

366. 

Casting  the  fly,  see  that  title. 
Fishing  a  trout  stream,  337-345. 
Flies,  see  that  title. 
Fly-fishing  methods,  330-332. 
Hooked  trout  — 

Handling,  358-360. 
Resistance   of  fish,  entangle- 
ment of  line,  344. 
Strain  exerted,  table,  57. 
Methods,  330-331. 
Pools,  fishing,  344-345. 
Rise  of  water,  trout  habits,  336- 

337- 
Rising  trout  habits,  343. 


Index 


41? 


Trout  fishing  [continued]  — 
Tackle,  selection  of,  362-367. 

First  outfit,  363. 

Flies,  see  that  title. 

Hooks,  367. 

Leaders,  365. 

Line,  365. 

Reel,  363-365- 

Rod,  362. 
Up-stream     and     down-stream, 

332-333- 
Troy  dam,  39. 

Truckee  trout,  see  Lake  Tahoe  trout. 
Turkey  fly,  dressing,  397. 
Tuxedo  fly,  dressing,  398. 
Tweed  River,  numbers  of  grilse  and 

salmon,  15-16. 
Twin    Lakes,    Colorado,   yellow-fin 

trout,  231. 

Upper    Arkansas   river,    greenback 

trout,  229. 

Usk  Grub  fly,  salmon  fishing,  83. 
Utah  lake  trout  [Salmo  clarkii  vir- 

ginalis~\  210. 
Characteristics,  237. 

Vicaire,  J.,  flies  for  salmon  fishing, 
80-81. 

Waha   Lake   trout    [Salmo    clarkii 

bouvierf]  211. 
Characteristics,  228-229. 
Discovery  of,  228. 
Walton  and  Cotton  — 
Brown  trout,  271,  277- 
Hooking  fish,  360. 
Washington   state,   salmon   culture, 

171. 

Webber   Lake,   trout   fishing,  235- 
236. 


Wells,  H.  P.— 

Salmon  fishing  tackle  — 
Gut,  obtaining,  60. 
Hooks,  70. 
Trout  fishing,  strain  exerted  by 

trout,  56-57. 
Wet  and  dry  fly  fishing,  349-350. 
White  Miller  fly,  dressing,  390. 
White  Moth,  dressing,  399. 
Whitney  fly,  dressing,  398. 
Williamson,  A.  — 

Sleep  of  salmon,  135. 

Sport  in  Canada  and   Scotland, 

127. 

Wilmot,  S.,  sleep  of  salmon,  135. 
"  Wilson  "  spoon  for  salmon  fishing, 

181. 

Wood  Duck  fly,  dressing,  397. 
Wood  River  — 

Salmo  clarkii  gibbsii,  222. 
Trout  classification,  201. 
Worde,  W.  de,  first  book  on  fishing 
published  by,  194. 

Yellow-fin  trout  [Salmo  clarkii  mac- 

donaldt}  211. 
Characteristics,  230-232. 
Yellow  May  fly,  dressing,  390. 
Yellow  Sallie  fly,  dressing,  390. 
Yellowstone    Park,     geysers,    trout 

fishing,  219. 
Yellowstone  River,  trout  fishing  and 

coloration,  200,  221. 
Yellowstone     trout   [Salmo  clarkii 

lewisi]  210,  221. 
Yukon    River,   quinnat  range,   155, 

156. 

"  Zebra  trout "  —  brown  trout  cross- 
ing experiments,  278. 

F.  C. 


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